Obama's Big Bird Backlash

I saw the ad early this morning at National Journal: "Big Bird Featured in New Obama Ad."

By the time I was going to lunch the Big Bird outcry was so big that even Sesame Street was demanding that the ad be pulled: "Sesame Workshop Response to Campaign Ads" (at Memeorandum):

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 both campaigns remove Sesame Street characters and trademarks from their campaign materials.

And check the Weekly Standard's commentary on Obama's Bird Bird blitz:

This is a moderately clever ad produced by moderately clever people. The moderately clever liberals who govern us think it's just farcical that someone should propose, in an era of $1 trillion deficits, that non-essential activities of the federal government should be cut. Limiting government is so dreadfully old fashioned; living within one's means is so awfully earnest.

But the ad doesn't just ridicule Romney as too un-cool for Obama-era school. It gets serious. Because there are real enemies that we do have to worry about. One such enemy? Wall Street.

Now, THE WEEKLY STANDARD would be the first to acknowledge that there's much wrong with Wall Street. Indeed, THE WEEKLY STANDARD is proud to take its place in the let's-not-automatically-defend-Wall-Street, let's-worry-about-Main-Street wing of contemporary conservatism.

Still, there's something deeply revealing about Obama's blithe willingness to portray Wall Street as an enemy. Wall Street is key to American prosperity—even to American greatness. Lots of important and impressive Americans have had careers on Wall Street. What Wall Street does is important. Wall Street matters.

I hate to tell the liberals this, but Sesame Street doesn't. It would be nice if life were "a magic carpet ride/Every door will open wide." It would be nice if happiness could be achieved by government telling us, "how to get/How to get to Sesame Street." It would be nice (maybe) if the world of Sesame Street were real.

But it's not. It's fictional. It's childish. It's as fictional and childish as the make-believe world of Obama's liberalism—a liberalism that scorns Wall Street, and disdains Main Street … but embraces Sesame Street.

More at Memeorandum.

And see Lonely Con, "Romney: What’s With Obama’s Big Bird Obsession."