Mark Dayton's Facebook joke about back surgery is taken too seriously

It's all fun and games until a reporter comes to believe you're serious about delaying the budget proposal.

This morning, Mark Dayton took to Facebook to update people about his recovery from a December 26 vertebrae-fusing back surgery.

SEE ALSO:
-- Mark Dayton says he's against easing marijuana laws
-- Mark Dayton apologizes for comparing troubled football players to soldiers back from war

Dayton has until January 22 to present his budget proposal for the next biennium, but in his Facebook post, he joked that if he isn't sufficiently recovered by then, he'll "invoke the obscure clause in the Minnesota Constitution, which allows me a one-time, two-month extension." Unfortunately, his humor was lost on some.

Here's Dayton original Facebook post:


Within an hour of that status being posted, Forum Communications Capitol reporter Don Davis published a report taking Dayton's "obscure clause" joke seriously:


Told some folks didn't get the joke, Dayton hopped back on Facebook to clarify:

Oh, and in case Mike Parry is wondering, Davis reports that "A Dayton spokeswoman said he is not taking prescription pain medicine."