I think that you have captured the crux of the issue, Jeff, and the reason for the reactions that we’ve seen since the debate. The sudden emergence of Big Bird as an object public discourse embodies your larger discussion: not everyone is able (no matter the reasons) to follow stump speeches and platforms closely or to make head or tails of the details (often with minimal context to support them) that overwhelm debates like the one that we saw. The Big Bird statement, however (and the endless string of memes that have followed it) acted as a monad: it encapsulated the larger realities and inherent tensions of the moment in ways that were able to convey the stakes of the election to the widest possible audience, without the need for reliance on exposition or debate, or the parsing of words in an attempt to alienate neither elites nor the rank-and-file.

My guess is that for all of Obama’s efforts at the convention, the question of where one stands on Big Bird is among the most economical of possible ways to bring the public to consciousness about the nature of their vote in this election cycle.

My bet is that the greater portion of the American public stands with Big Bird.

Great insight and post.