While campaigning in Iowa yesterday, presidential candidate Mitt Romney ruffled America’s giant, yellow feathers. If he were head-of-state, Romney said, he’d stop government subsidizing for PBS, forcing shows like “Sesame Street” to collect funds from advertisers. Then, the M is for money quote:
“I like PBS, we subsidize PBS. Look — I’m gonna stop that, I’m gonna say PBS is gonna have to have advertisement. We’re not gonna kill Big Bird, but Big Bird’s gonna have advertisements, all right.”
Maybe it’s because I’m a corporate hack, sitting here in my Old Navy hoodie, but all things considered, I don’t think this is that big of a deal. The idea of cutting funding for such an insignificant portion of America’s budget is incredibly misguided and totally beside the point (.00014% of America’s $3.456 trillion budget went to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2010, according to Politico), but I’m not against advertising as a rule. Just because “Sesame Street…seems lost in time,” which is evidently a valid reason not to change something according to EW, doesn’t mean the show’s charm would be lost if a Coke ad aired during the commercial break. It would then be up to PBS to not become the profit-driven monster they’re trying so hard not to be. Or else.
That being said, Romney picked the dumbest possible way of getting his message across. I can’t wait for his next speech: “Now, I’m not saying Bambi’s mom deserved to be shot, but…”
