Translation: They don’t want this to escalate to the point where Romney or Ryan put out a soundbyte that tells the public how much they are making on merchandising!
This is a great opportunity to introduce into the narrative the concept of zero-based budgeting. Obama complains that cutting Big Bird isn’t going to help.
But the real issue is, if you have limited funds, which is more important, funding Big Bird, or hiring enough security to keep the terrorists from killing your ambassadors?