Presidential Debate Sparks 10.3 Million Tweets

Most tweeted "event in U.S. politics," Twitter reports

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/4/2012 10:49:50 AM

The U.S. presidential debate produced 10.3 million tweets during the 90-minute event, making it "the most tweeted-about event in U.S. politics," according to data Twitter has posted on its blog.

The biggest spike in tweets occurred when Governor Mitt Romney requested a topic and moderator Jim Lehrer quipped "let's not."

Other major spikes occurred when President Barak Obama quipped "I had 5 seconds" after Lehrer gave him the time limit and during discussions of Medicare and vouchers, according to a chart of showing the volume of tweets during the event.

There were also more than a quarter of a million tweets mentioning Big Bird when Romney said he wanted to cut funding for PBS.