President Obama gets a little help from Harold and Kumar in a new YouTube spot for the Democratic National Convention. 
 
 While not explicitly mentioned by name, Kal Penn (as Kumar) and John Cho (as Harold) reprise their characters from the stoner film franchise, making cameo appearances in the nearly minute-long video. (Their only other presidential interaction was a bonding session with George W. Bush in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay). 
 
 The promo, which was uploaded Monday, starts off seriously enough, with Obama picking up the phone in what appears to be the White House, and calling an unidentified person. 
 
 "Hey, this is Barack. Listen, I need to know if you're on board," he says while sitting at a desk. "'Cause I'm counting on you. Everybody is. We have to get this right. So there's a lot at stake here. Just remember that I'm trusting you on this, and I'll see you then." 
 
 The camera then pans to a shot of Cho and Penn sitting on a couch, while watching cartoons and eating junk food. As it turns out, Obama was speaking to Penn, who takes the entire conversation in stride. Check out the video above to see what happens. 
 
 Viewers can watch the DNC live on BarackObama.com. Penn is slated to host coverage of the event, which will take place in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 6. The actor is a national campaign co-chair for Obama, and previously served as an associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. 
 
 What do you think of the video? Tell us in the comments. 
 
 Read more of Mashable's coverage of the Democratic National Convention: ||||| Ha! Thank you for understanding my creative humor & sarcasm Mr. President, the smart ones always do… *sends love & support* @BarackObama — Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) 10 Sep 12 
 
 Lest there be any lingering confusion: sometimes performers say things in the context of their work that they do not mean literally – political endorsements included. 
 
 Following a convention week in which Mitt Romney learned that celebrity testimonials were not all they are cracked up to be – just ask Clint Eastwood and his chair – the Republican presidential nominee received an unexpected shout-out from the hip-hop musician Nicki Minaj. 
 
 In a guest appearance on the track “Mercy,” from the Lil Wayne mixtape “Dedication 4,” Ms. Minaj, an artist known for her garishly imaginative outfits and a range of cartoonish voices to rival Mel Blanc’s, rapped, “I’m a Republican, voting for Mitt Romney.” She then completed the verse by rhyming it with a vulgar line about “lazy” people who were wreaking havoc on the economy. 
 
 While nothing about Ms. Minaj’s music is as simple as it may seem, some listeners took “Mercy” (which started appearing online around Sept. 3) at face value. Music Web sites like rapdose.com reported on the lyric with headlines that read “Nicki Minaj Endorses Mitt Romney,” while the gossip blog Gawker hedged its bets, asking readers, “Did Nicki Minaj Really Endorse Mitt Romney?” 
 
 However, there were clues in the song that Ms. Minaj was not describing a factual set of circumstances. For example, in the very next line of the song, she raps: “Out in Miami I be chillin’ with a zombie.” 
 
 There would also seem to be a general rule that applies to pop songs and other works of performance, under which artists are allowed to adopt fictional personae in the service of evoking an audience’s emotions. (To date, there is no evidence that Johnny Cash ever shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.) 
 
 President Obama appeared to suggest as much in an interview with the Orlando, Fla., radio station Power 95.3. Asked whether he thought Ms. Minaj’s lyric was an authentic endorsement of his rival, Mr. Obama said: “I’m not sure that’s actually what happened. I think she had a song on there, that – a little rap that said that. But she likes to play different characters.” 
 
 Ms. Minaj gave credence to the president’s interpretation of the song on Monday, writing in a post on her Twitter account: “Ha! Thank you for understanding my creative humor & sarcasm Mr. President, the smart ones always do…”
– President Obama's latest supporters: Harold and Kumar. Kal Penn and John Cho reprise their stoner characters in a new Obama campaign video, in which the president makes a very important phone call asking Penn's Kumar for some help. Turns out that help involves Penn—a former member of the Obama administration and currently a national campaign co-chair—hosting live streaming coverage of the Democratic National Convention, Mashable reports. This is the first time the DNC is using a livestream, USA Today reports, and it will be chock-full of celebrity guests including Marc Anthony, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Zach Braff, among others. Penn—of whom Sasha and Malia Obama are reportedly big fans—already taped an interview with Michelle Obama at the Charlotte arena where the convention kicks off tonight. But Mitt Romney has a big celeb fan of his own: Nicki Minaj. Rapdose reports that a new song, "Mercy," from Lil Wayne's latest mixtape, includes Minaj rapping the line: "I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney, you lazy b****es are f***ing up the economy."