Washington Post TV columnist slams Romney, 'first Big Bird now Nickelodeon' Mitt Romney's decision to decline an invitation to appear on a Nickelodeon "news" special with children in the last month of the campaign is drawing liberal-media barbs. "First Big Bird, now Nickelodeon," cracked Washington Post TV critic Lisa de Moraes. What's up with Mitt Romney and kids? Linda Ellerbee, a former NBC reporter and anchor and CNN commentator, denounced Romney for his decision. "That's several million kids who actually want to get involved in the democratic process," Ellerbee said. In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry declined to appear, and so President Bush backed out as well (he appeared in 2000 as a candidate). This year, President Obama invited Nickelodeon's crew to the White House in September, and the special will air on October 15, using news clips of Romney alongside their Obama interview. Ellerbee added: "It's not that we're some left-wing show and that's the only kids that watch us." But a Nick News election special last month asked the children what the top eight issues were in Campaign 2012, and somehow, among this set of viewers, gay marriage was the number-one issue - and "jobs" ranked number eight. Nickelodeon has also been a willing promotional partner for First Lady Michelle Obama. In July, they teamed up for a "Let's Move" event at the Olympics in London. In January, the First Lady appeared in an episode of the teen sitcom "iCarly" - at the First Lady's request. "They actually pitched us," Marva Smalls, a Nickelodeon executive, told Politico. It's doubtful that the Romney campaign feared liberal tilt among the kids. They were pressed for time, or this appearance simply isn't the best use of their time. But they wouldn't be wrong if they did. Ellerbee did anchor a very sensitive "My Family Is Different" Nick News special with two lesbian mothers in 2002 and even did a special on the Clinton impeachment in 1998 that brought in liberal Democrat lawyer Reid Weingarten to tell the kids that Clinton did not commit perjury, the Starr probe was propelled by Clinton's enemies, and lying is okay if the questions violate your "zone of privacy." In 1992, in a syndicated column, Ellerbee slammed the Republican convention in Houston: "As you probably already know by now, the Republican platform was written by Miss Grundy, and if you're white enough, wealthy enough, and selfish enough, you, too can be a Republican this year." She hasn't even seemed to like America. In a 1989 commentary on CNN, she wondered, "Why would any Vietnamese come to America after what America did for Vietnam? Don't they remember My Lai, napalm, Sylvester Stallone? Clearly they have no more sense over there, than say, Mexicans who keep trying to get into this country even though this country stole large parts of their country from them in the first place. Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and senior editor of MRC's blog NewsBusters.