It’s Elmo:
After months of preparation and umpteen billions of dollars, the federal government came out Tuesday with its swine flu response. It is red and furry and giggles in a high-pitched voice.
“Come on! Wash your hands with Elmo! Wash, wash, wash!” the Muppet from Sesame Street sings in a public service announcement released Tuesday by the Obama administration. “Sneeze into your arm with Elmo,” the character adds. “Ah-choo!”
Word of this new federal initiative was released at 8:51 Tuesday morning, in an e-mail straight from the White House press office announcing the partnership with Sesame Workshop aimed at “stressing healthy habits to prevent H1N1 flu.” The administration is hoping Elmo’s good hygiene will go, uh, viral.
Nothing against Elmo, but it was a stark expression of the federal government’s impotence as the nation braces for the pandemic. The authorities expect the swine flu to reach its peak in October and sicken as many as half of all Americans, but the bulk of the vaccine doses won’t arrive until November or December. That means tens of thousands, many of them children, could die unnecessarily — and the government is powerless to do much but recommend hand-washing and sleeve-sneezing.
I don’t know. Elmo might do a better job than anyone in Washington.
September 4th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Oh Nos… that Government indoctrination has hit Sesame Street… someone needs to tell Glenn Beck so he can cry about it.
September 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Well, I must admit I rather like the “cough etiquette”. No one has really stressed simple hygiene since about 100 years ago, and many people were starting to get pretty disgusting about it. Too bad it’s all about an over-hyped, not-very-dangerous virus.