It's something of a victory lap for Big Bird. Four months after Mitt Romney famously pledged to cut funding for the large yellow Muppet, Big Bird is dancing in the White House to promote the first lady's healthy living initiative.
The Sesame Street character and Mrs. Obama have teamed up in two new public service announcements to encourage kids to eat healthy and get active.
One features Big Bird with the first lady in the White House kitchen looking for a healthy snack to eat (Big Bird opts for a similarly-colored banana). In the other, Big Bird shows off his dancing skills while exercising in the East Room.
"Look, Mrs. Obama, I'm getting moving right now by jogging… Now I'm jumping to get moving… And now, I'm dancing," he says as he sings to himself.
"Good for you, Big Bird," Mrs. Obama says.
The PSAs are being released as part of the third anniversary celebration of Let's Move!, the First Lady's initiative to encourage children to live healthier lives.
Big Bird became a much-discussed, and mocked, topic on the campaign trail after the GOP candidate vowed to cut funding for public broadcasting. "I love Big Bird," Romney declared in a presidential debate in October. "But I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for."
The Obama campaign seized on the line and Big Bird quickly became part of President Obama's standard stump speech.
"Thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird. It's about time," Obama quipped the morning after the Denver debate. "We didn't know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit. But that's what we heard last night. How about that?"
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