If you haven't seen the hilariously effective ad by Karl Rove's American Crossroads group that portrays Barack Obama as a celebrity president with a failed economic record, check it out in the video clip.
Mika Brzezinksi was clearly peeved at how well the ad was playing even with her liberal-dominated panel. After Obama fan Donny Deutsch, and no-conservative-he John Heilemann praised the ad, a Mika at wit's end sought to recruit HuffPo's Sam Stein to help her out. "Can you debunk some of the things in the ad?", she entreated. Stumbled Stein: "ah-h-h-h-h, sure, I guess." After offering a paltry defense that Joe Scarborough demolished, Stein was reduced to saying that Mika had invited him to try to debunk the ad, and that "I'm trying my best!" View the amusing video after the break.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Very compelling: let's roll it.
After ad plays . . .
DONNY DEUTSCH: That is a strong advertisement.
MIKA BRZEZINKSI: Even though the pieces of data have a lot to do with what happened before he became president?
DEUTSCH: Doesn't matter. And like I said: boring is the new black. Vanilla is the new black, and I think that's the tone going forward.
New York magazine's John Heilemann proceeded to praise the ad as well, finishing thusly:
JOHN HEILEMANN: It's an ad that has, that makes you sort of smile, even if you're a fan of the president's. It's pretty well executed. It's done with a nice tongue firmly planted in the cheek. Those are good qualities!
BRZEZINSKI [trying to stop him before he heaps any more praise on ad]: Thank you, John. It's a well-executed ad; it's pretty. Sam Stein, can you debunk some of the things put out in the ad?
SAM STEIN: Well, ah-h-h-h-h, sure, I guess. I mean, the whole point of the ad is to blame all of the economic malaise on Obama without touching on the Bush years. But I think the ad, I don't know what Donny says that boring is the new black --
SCARBOROUGH: Sam, we're three-and-a-half years into the Obama administration -- '
STEIN: Yeah, yeah: I'm saying --
SCARBOROUGH: This is how elections are run.
STEIN: Yeah, no, I'm saying. Well, Mika invited me to try to debunk some of this stuff: so I'm trying my best!
