Big Bird: Obama Told To Pull Sesame Street Ad

Barack Obama's campaign team says it is "reviewing" a request from Sesame Street to stop using images of Big Bird in a TV advertisement.

The ad, shown on national cable stations and on the campaign's YouTube page, mocks a pledge by Mitt Romney to cut public funding to America's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which shows the children's show.

A narrator says: "Big ? Yellow ? A menace to our economy ? Mitt Romney knows it's not Wall Street you have to worry about, it's Sesame Street.

"Mitt Romney - taking on our enemies, no matter where they nest."

Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, said: "Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, non-profit organisation 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."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters: "We've received that request. We're reviewing it.

"I will say it doesn't change the fact that there's only one candidate in this race who is going to continue to fight for Big Bird and Elmo, and he is riding on this plane."

She added: "The point that we're making here is that when Mitt Romney was given the opportunity to lay out how he would address the deficit, when he said, I will take a serious approach to it, his first offering was to cut funding for Big Bird.

"And that is absurd and hard to take seriously (as) his specific plan."

Mr Romney made the comments about Sesame Street during the first debate of the presidential race last week, saying that although he "liked" Big Bird, he no longer wanted PBS to be subsidised by the American public.

Mr Obama's performance in the debate was widely described as lacklustre and a poll of voters has since shown Mr Romney is edging ahead of the president by 49% to 47%.