Posted by Jay Livingston
I could have understood it if Romney had gone after Welfare, which is still not a very popular concept, at least in the abstract. Or if he’d said he was going to get rid of unnecessary Bureaucracy (and maybe Bureaucrats). And of course I understood his promise to eliminate Obamacare, which a majority oppose, at least in opinion polls..
But Big Bird?
The much-loved muppet was the second thing Romney mentioned, right after Obamacare, when he went into cut mode during last night’s debate. Romney must also know that PBS is a minuscule fraction of the budget. So surely this was not some spontaneous off-the-cuff remark. It had to be a rehearsed zinger, to be inserted at the earliest opportunity.
Romney also phrased it so that everyone would get a clear picture in their minds – not the abstract PBS, but Big Bird. But why?
Does Big Bird really poll so badly? Is the large yellow creature this election’s Willie Horton?
The Romney people must know something about this that I don’t. But what?
(Almost as soon as Romney had spoken, the pictures of Big Bird – mash-ups or with text added – started showing up all over the Internet. Check Google Images.)
Little distorted on what Romney said isn't it?
ReplyDeleteHe said he would cut programs, like PBS. A couple million here, a couple hundred mil there and we are talking serious money.
Given that around half of all the money the government spends is borrowed; does it make sense to continue to support so many programs?