President Barack Obama’s latest campaign ad features an unlikely character in Sesame Street’s Big Bird.
Governor Mitt Romney brought up Big Bird during the first Presidential debate, claiming that though he “likes” Big Bird, he would cut the Government funding of PBS, so that the US can stop borrowing money from China.
The narrator in the ad states: “Bernie Madoff. Ken Lay. Dennis Kozlowski. Criminals. Gluttons of greed. And the evil genius who towered over them? One man has the guts to speak his name (shows a photo of Romney). Big Bird!”
The narrator adds, “Big. Yellow. A menace to our economy. Mitt Romney knows it’s not Wall Street you have to worry about – it’s Sesame Street.”
The ad ends with: “Romney: taking on our enemies no matter where they nest.”
PBS and Sesame Workshop have released a statement calling on the President’s campaign to cease running the add, stating : “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.”
Update: As of the weekend of 10/13/2012, The Obama campaign has not stopped the ad, as it ran during Saturday night’s telecast of Saturday Night Live.
