Mayor McCheeseAnybody else out there remember all those McDonaldland characters? Sure Ronald's still around and very rarely will you get a glimpse of the Hamburglar. But in the good ol' days (I'm over 30, I can say that legally) there was practically an entire town of characters.

The large purple Grimace who I have absolutely no clue what kind of creature he was supposed to be. The Fry Guys, little colorful pom-pom creatures with legs (and sneakers!) that'd just giggle and bounce around, presumably feasting on french fries like there's no tomorrow. There were definitely a bunch of other characters but the only other one I can recall is Mayor McCheese. Dressed sharply in a tailored purple suit, the mayor sported a gigantic hamburger-sized (and shaped) head.

Now what always confused me as a kid was why the Hamburglar (who would sell his own mother for a bite of a burger) never tried stealing or eating Mayor McCheese. Was it merely because the mayor was a cheeseburger? If he were simply Mayor McBurger, would he have quickly been assassinated by the Hamburglar? Or perhaps that's how McCheese came into office; his predecessor was taken down and devoured?

I also found it a bit odd that McDonald's, a chain known primarily for selling hamburgers, would have this cheery friendly living hamburger as one of its characters. I mean, it's one thing to have a cute chicken costumed guy talk about some fried chicken place. That's a little tougher for kids to digest in terms of making the connection between the food and the living creature. But Mayor McCheese practically slaps you in the face that you would be eating him! Yeah, I had some pretty wacked out nightmares as a kid.

Anyways, I have no clue why McDonald's abandoned just about all of its characters except Ronald these days. They did introduce that super annoying Early Bird years back, but even she's gone now. With The King creeping people out all over the place thanks to Burger King's latest commercials, I'm really hoping the Mayor pops back into the limelight.

Or heck, with the big presidential election coming up, maybe the Mayor will be forced to actually participate in a legitimate election. Could we be looking to a Mayor McNugget instead? Or to counter Burger King, maybe we'll see a Mayor McQueen. Ah, the politics of fast food.

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