This Halloween, watch for Big Birds

Midtown, NEW YORK– During the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney made a statement concerning a withdrawal of federal subsidies to PBS. After this announcement, Romney said, “I like Big Bird… but I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.”

This comment inspired a controversial ad put out by the Obama campaign, in which Romney was portrayed as blaming Big Bird for the nation’s financial calamity. In addition to political fuel, the Big Bird comment has provided material for any American still in need of a Halloween costume.

Ruth Molina, manager at Spirit Halloween Store on Sixth Avenue, reported that Big Bird costumes are in very high demand. Joining the ranks of Ted, Batman, The Avengers and “Adventure Time” characters, requests for Big Bird are at their peak.

“We no longer carry Big Bird costumes in the store, but that hasn’t stopped people from coming in and asking for them,” Molina said. She explained that Spirit only carries the costume online but that those sales are at an all-time high.

In the midst of such an intense election, there is no telling which statements will become iconic, as the Big Bird craze proves. Molina said that Halloween trends in particular are usually easy to predict—shows, movies, celebrities and, especially on an election year, political figures. With all things considered, however, it’s safe to say that no Halloween store could have prepared for something as random as this.

“It’s crazy how fast this happened... It’s very popular,” Molina said.

Molina reported that since the first debate, the Bird has emerged as the preferred costume option for Halloween 2012. As for the Obama campaign ad, PBS has requested that it be taken down, but there won’t be any stopping the yellow-feather-clad zealots come Oct. 31.

There was no mention of Big Bird in the VP debate, but with the election as close as it is, and with Halloween even closer, it’s safe to assert that we can look forward to a yellow-tinted crowd of politically aware trick-or-treaters.