2012 United States presidential election debates

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thumb|right|300px|A CNN segment.
thumb|right|300px|A selection of media stories about the Big Bird comment.
During the 2012 United States presidential election debates, presidential candidate Mitt Romney referenced Big Bird in relation to funding for PBS, when addressing moderator Jim Lehrer: 
"I'm sorry, Jim, I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop other things. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too. But I'm not going to -- I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for. That's number one."
U.S. Presidential incumbent Barack Obama commented on the remarks at multiple stops. First, in Denver, Colorado after the debate, on October 4th, he jokingly commented "Thank goodness someone is finally getting tough on Big Bird. We didn't know Big Bird was leading the federal deficit."Raw Story. Edwards, David. "Obama: ‘Thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird’." Thursday, October 4th, 2012 In Fairfax, Virginia on October 5, he addressed the issue again in similar language. "For all you moms and kids out there, don't worry: somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. Rounding him up. Elmo's got to watch out too. Governor Romney plans to let Wall Street run wild again, but bring the hammer down on Sesame Street." 
Romney clarified that, "I'm not going to kill Big Bird, but there's going to be ads on PBS, to pay for Big Bird." He also commented "He's going to have to get used to Kellogg's Corn Flakes."Michael Falcone, "Mitt Romney’s History With Big Bird: Ruffling Feathers Since Dec. 2011", ABC News, 9 October 2012.
Romney has mentioned Big Bird (as well as Bert and Ernie) in his campaign remarks as early as December 28, 2011.
==Sesame Workshop and PBS response==
Sesame Workshop released a blog post in response: 
Sherrie Westin of Sesame Workshop appeared on CNNThursday morning, October 4th, to clarify: 
Big Bird himself indirectly referenced the remarks on Twitter: "Big Bird: My bed time is usually 7:45, but I was really tired yesterday and fell asleep at 7! Did I miss anything last night?"
Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Piers Morgan, Today, and Good Morning America all offered appearance spots to Big Bird. While it was said that Sesame Workshop declined all offers,Huffington Post: Big Bird Asked To Appear On Jimmy Fallon, Piers Morgan And More Big Bird did make a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" on October 6, 2012.Mediaite: Big Bird Responds To Mitt Romney On SNL (includes video) Avoiding any direct political statement, the bird discussed all of the tweets he got and his sudden fame (how everyone now looks at him when he goes down the street, when he used to be able to blend in like any other eight-foot tall talking bird) and made one non-partisan political joke (about how debates are really enjoyed by "de fishes"). 
On October 9, in response to the Obama campaign ad using Big Bird, Sesame Workshop issued a second statement: 
==Editorial cartoons==
BBvR_Steve_Benson_Arizona_Republic.jpg|Steve Benson
BBvR_John_Deering_Arkansas_Democrat_Gazette.jpg|John Deering
BBvR Mike Luckovich.jpg|Mike Luckovich
BBvR Rick McKee Augusta Chronicle.jpg|Rick McKee
BBvR_Adam_Zyglis_The_Buffalo_News.jpg|Adam Zyglis
BBvR_Chuck_Asay_Colorado_Springs_Gazette.jpg|Chuck Asay
BBvR_Nate_Beeler_The_Columbus_Dispatch.jpg|Nate Beeler
BBvR_Taylor_Jones_Hoover_Digest.jpg|Taylor Jones
BBvR Nick Anderson Houston Chronicle.png|Nick Anderson
BBvR_Michael_Ramirez_Investors_Business_Daily.jpg|Michael Ramirez
BBvR Danziger.jpg|Jeff Danzinger
LA_Times_David_Horsey.jpg|David Horsey
BBvR Rob Tornoe.jpg|Rob Tornoe
BBvR_Neues_Deutschland.jpg|
BBvR Omaha World-Herald.jpg|Jeff Koterba
BBvR Ottawa Citizen.jpg|Cameron Cardow
BBvR_Eric_Allie_Pioneer_Press.jpg|Eric Allie
BBvR_Randy_Bish_Pittsburgh_Tribune-Review.jpg|Randy Bish
BBvR_Randy_Bish_Pittsburgh_Tribune-Review_pull_ad.jpg|Randy Bish
BBvR Mark Streeter Savannah Morning News.jpg|Mark Streeter
BBvR_Mark_Streeter_Savannah_Morning_News_freefall.jpg|Mark Streeter
BBvR John Cole Scranton Times-Tribune.jpg|John Cole
BBvR_Christo_Kormarnitski_Sega.jpg|Christo Kormarnitski
BBvR_Chris_Britt_State_Journal-Register.jpg|Chris Britt
BBvR_Steve_Kelley_The_Times-Picayune.jpg|Steve Kelley
BBvR_Toronto_Star.jpg|
BBvR_Cal_Grondahl_Utah_Standard_Examiner.jpg|Cal Grondahl
BBvR_Bill_Day_vulture.jpg|Bill Day
BBvR_Chip_Bok.jpg|Chip Bok
BBvR_Chip_Bok_royalties.jpg|Chip Bok
BBvR_Ken_Catalino.jpg|Ken Catalino
BBvR Bill Day.jpg|Bill Day
BBvR Dave Granlund.jpg|Dave Granlund
BBvR_Milt_Priggee.jpg|Milt Priggee
1108ckCOMIC-mitt's-sesame-street.png|
Payn121013.gif|Henry Payne
==Other responses==
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thumb|right|300px|From Conan
:See also The Million Puppet March
* The Obama campaign released an ad on YouTube, titled "Big Bird", focusing on the comments versus the "Wall Street" issue. The video features two actual Sesame Street clips: one of Big Bird stating "It's me, Big Bird" and another of him sleeping in his nest.
**The ad prompted a response from Sesame Workshop, asking for its removal and reiterating its nonpartisan stance: "Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."CBS News. "Sesame Workshop to Obama: Take Big Bird Ad Down." October 9. 12:38pm
**In turn, the Republican National Committee, on the official GOP blog, has referred to the Obama campaign's reactions to Romney's comment as "Big Bird Backfire," suggesting he should be spending more time on more important issues.
* During the debate, "Big Bird" was one of Google's top four rising search terms (the others were "Simpson Bowles", "Dodd Frank", and "Who is winning the debate").http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/04/big-bird-a-top-google-search-during-presidential-debate/
* Social media responses cited in the media included a Facebook campaign to elect Big Bird president, an Indiegogo campaign, and @FiredBigBird, a parody account with over 31,000 followers. According to USA Today, "the Twitter Government account, @gov, tweeted that the phrase "Big Bird" had generated about 17,000 tweets per minute."
*The controversy was referenced and lampooned on such shows as The Daily Show, Conan, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Late Night, The Late Late Show, Ellen, and Jimmy Kimmel Live, among others.
==Sources==
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