"Average Joes" Who Were Thrust Onto the Political Stage

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  • Big Bird, Sesame Street
  • Richard Hayes, Mitt Romney
  • Sandra Fluke
  • Velma Hart, Barack Obama
  • Joseph Wurzelbacher, Joe the Plumber, Barack Obama, John McCain

Big Bird

From Big Bird to "Joe the Plumber," BET.com takes a look at instances where unlikely, everyday personalities were thrust onto the political stage. –Britt Middleton

Big Bird may not be "an Average Joe," or even human for that matter, but the iconic feathered character surprisingly became the focus of the first of the 2012 presidential debates when Mitt Romney said he would cut funding to PBS, which airs Sesame Street, as a means to lower the national deficit. In turn, the big yellow bird and his friends found themselves the subject of Internet memes and even a Twitter account opposing Romney's stance. 

(Photo: AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

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