Debate makes Big Bird a big hit on Twitter

(Credit: SadBirdBird/Twitter )

Big Bird might just be the big winner in tonight's presidential debate. A number of satirical Big Bird accounts popped up on Twitter within moments of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney noting that "I love Big Bird" as he commented that he would cut PBS subsidies to address the national debt.

"100 Retweets and I'm going to make my nest outside Romney's bedroom window," read one tweet from BigBirdRomney (Twitter bio: Romney is willing to cut me. Not cool).

Another account, SadBigBird (bio: Sad Mitt haz no love for me..... or does he?), bragged: "I am owning the #debates." Additional avian accounts BIGBIRD and Fired Big Bird are also flying high on Twitter; as of shortly after the debate's close, each boasted more than 12,000 followers. "Herman Cain/Big Bird 2016," the latter proposed.

The Twitter masses jumped all over Romney's Big Bird comment tonight, with the microblogging site at one point registering 17,000 tweets per minute for "Big Bird" and 10,000 tweets per minute for "PBS," according to Twitter Government, which tracks the use of Twitter for civic engagement.

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