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Posted: Friday, October 19th, 2012 9:00 AM HST

Hirono, Lingle freewheeling in US Senate debate

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Democratic Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and Republican former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle don't agree on much in their race for U.S. Senate, but they both like Big Bird. The Sesame Street icon-turned 2012 conversation piece played an up-front role in a freewheeling debate Thursday night that aired on PBS. It's the second of three debates in seven days for the candidates as they push toward the November election, with early voting set to begin next week. The debate began with moderator Dan Boylan bringing out a stuffed doll of Big Bird and asking if cuts to PBS are serious. From there, Hirono and Lingle sparred on national and state issues, including taxes, national defense and Medicare.