Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds (And Flu) Away

Alright, I'm officially declaring it pop culture day on FedBlog, given the amount of attention that's coming to the White House's announcement that the administration is teaming up with Sesame Street to fight a resurgence of H1N1. I'm always interested in the cultural figures the federal government regards as honest brokers, and it's a little bit funny to have high-ranking government officials refer to Sesame Street characters as if they're real people, like when the White House releases a statement quoting Education Secretary Arne Duncan as saying "Having Elmo and our friends at Sesame Street help get that message out there will be a tremendous help." While it might be necessary to preserve the fiction that the show's characters are real in, say, a television appearance, I'm not sure why it makes sense in a news release that no kids are likely to read.