Romney says good bye to Big Bird

Social networks lit up Wednesday as users argued over who emerged as the key character from Wednesday's first president debate. The candidates? Forget it — most attention focused on moderator Jim Lehrer, or the cherished children's TV character Big Bird. Here are some of key online trends from the night: —BIG BIRD: As Republican Mitt Romney pledged to cut funding to PBS — adding, "I like PBS, I love Big Bird" — commenters on Twitter leaped to the defense of their favorite "Sesame Street" characters. After all those mornings I spent teaching your boys the letters of the alphabet and how to sound out words, you’re going to f-i-r-e me. That’s a word I heard today and I can hardly say it. You said at the de-bate that you love me. But that can’t be true, can it? In fact, you gave me a big bop on the beak. And you shouldn’t bop anybody on the beak. It’s not nice. Is it because my feathers are too yellow? It is because my feet are too big? Most adults under 45 recall Sesame Street as quality children's entertainment. Heck, even older people like Mitt Romney claim that they love Big Bird. But what some of us seem to have forgotten is that Big Bird isn't just a lovable Muppet; he's also an inexpensive and very effective tool of the American education system. Sesame Street was created to be a sort of at-home preschool for poor kids. The idea was to capture children's attention and use the opportunity that presented to efficiently teach them the basic skills they would need to begin their formal education. Its goals were optimistic, clearly defined and quantifiable.