Like 'Axis of Weasel,' But a Clown

ALBANY—"I just came to join the circus."

That's the only statement Sunny the Clown, pictured here, would offer as I peppered her with questions about her surprise appearance this afternoon for the storming of the State Senate chamber that never was.

After close examination of Sunny's attire, conversations with numerous sources familiar with hilarious clown antics, and the fact that she was walking around with Jenn Fermino, I can report that Sunny was hired by the New York Post to stand around and appear in photos next to lawmakers.

The Post has been big on this sort of thing since a coup Monday threw the State Senate into disarray and caused the passage of legislation to a halt, with State Editor Fred Dicker sufficiently committed to the bit to have played circus on his morning radio show.

It isn't the first time the Post has done something like this. In 2008, they hired a Jessica Simpson look-alike to distract Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, then her boyfriend, during a game against the New York Giants.

The Giants won 21-17.