Obama, Romney debate (and Big Bird) generate 10 million tweets

A chart showing the flood of tweets generated during last night's presidential debate.

(Credit: Twitter )

The initial presidential debate last night between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney generated more than 10 million tweets, making it the most tweeted political event in U.S. history.

In a blog post issued early this morning, Twitter recounted the issues -- and quips -- that got users tweeting the most. Those ranged from questions about fact-checking to discussions about medicare or Obamacare to general dissatisfaction with moderator Jim Lehrer.

But among certain circles, the politics of the debate were secondary to Romney's suggestion that in order to cut spending, he would propose cutting PBS' budget, impacting one of America's most beloved figures.

Perhaps the biggest star of the first presidential debate was 'Sesame Street' character Big Bird.

(Credit: Twitter user @FiredBigBird )

"Of course, the evening's real breakout star was a certain tall yellow Muppet," Twitter wrote on its blog. "There were more than a quarter million Tweets ... [Read more]