NEW YORK (AP) - Can't figure out how to dress
as a binder full of women for Halloween? There's always Big Bird, the
other star of the presidential debates.
The Yellow One is flying off the shelves
after Mitt Romney's threat to do away with government support for PBS.
President Barack Obama kept the Halloween dream alive Tuesday night when
be brought up the bird again during their second debate.
At 6 feet, Angela Betancourt volunteered for
Big Bird duty among a group of friends riffing on Sesame Street for a
couple of Halloween parties and a meander along Lincoln Road in Miami
Beach. She'll likely carry a suitcase as she passes out the popular kid
character's resume.
"I grew up on Sesame Street and I think that
PBS deserves all the funds it can get," said Betancourt, 30. "We all
feel the same way."
Halloweencostumes.com sold out of several
takes on Big Bird almost overnight after Romney's remark during the
first presidential debate Oct. 3, said a company spokesman, Marlon
Heimerl.
"In the past this hasn't been a very popular
costume, so when Big Bird flew the coop in such high numbers, it was
definitely a big surprise," said Heimerl, who would not provide specific
sales figures.
Disguise Inc., Sesame Workshop's official
costume maker, said interest is up among the thousands of retailers it
services. The sellers of unlicensed Big Bird, especially sexed-up
versions, beware.
"The only costumes authorized by Sesame
Workshop are with our licensee, Disguise, and we are working with our
legal team on having the others removed from the market," said Ellen
Lewis, a spokeswoman from over there on Sesame Street.
Betancourt went for sanctioned, sassy Big
Bird in a yellow, flapper-style feathered dress and a dainty head piece.
Shannon Ziegler of suburban Detroit will be Big Birdesque in a sexier
mini with mesh cutouts, ringed thigh-highs and a fluffy hat that has
google eyes.
Ziegler, another 6-footer, hadn't decided
between a sign that reads: "Big Bird for President" or one imploring:
"Don't Use Me." An American flag may also be involved.
"When I saw that costume," said the 27-year-old Ziegler, "I thought, how perfect is that?"
For the record, Ziegler's a Republican who said she'll probably vote for Romney.
"Big Bird is not getting fired," she said.
"Big Bird is big and strong and he will be able to stand his ground. I
think that Sesame Street will be strong no matter what."
Kimberly Wick, vice president of Costume
World based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., also saw sleepy seller Big Bird
become a hot seller overnight. The company sells and rents costumes of
all kinds and has four stores around the country.
"We had Big Bird dancing in front of our
Deerfield Beach store and people were honking and going crazy," Wick
said. "It's been 20 years since Big Bird was popular."
Wick was madly trying to replenish sold-out
Big Bird looks among several the company carries for infants to adults.
So who's buying - Democrats, Republicans or those pesky undecideds?
"Does Big Bird have a left wing and a right wing? I don't know," she said. "I guess we'll find out."
Sara Gaugl, a spokeswoman at the Bellevue,
Wash., headquarters for the large thrift store chain Savers and Value
Village, said sales of all Sesame Street character costumes picked up
significantly after the first debate on Oct. 3. Managers of the nearly
300 secondhand stores across the United States and Canada were also busy
helping customers put together DIY Big Bird, she said.
"Last year we were seeing a trend in
nostalgia, such as Candy Land and Twister," Gaugl said. "Big Bird was
selling but it was not as hot of a commodity. People are not ignoring
the conversation around the election."
Cheryl Kerzner, vice president for product
design and marketing for San Diego-based Disguise, said her retailers
have also been clamoring for more Big Bird since the debate.
"It's been crazy," she said. "We cannot give them more. We are sold out."
Tim Waters, national political director for
the United Steelworkers International Union, put Big Bird on the road at
voter registration and other election-related events soon after the
Oct. 3 debate, when Romney uttered these words before moderator Jim
Lehrer of PBS: "I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop
other things. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually, I like you, too.
But I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money
from China to pay for."
The 8-foot-2 character has been a huge crowd-pleaser, Waters said.
"People are loving Big Bird," he said. "I've
never seen anything like it. They're lined up. There are hundreds of
people wanting their pictures with Big Bird. They're hugging Big Bird,
kissing Big Bird. I'm, like, what in the world are we on to here?"
