Debate's Real Winner: 'Binders Full of Women'

Romney phrase immediately goes viral
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2012 8:30 AM CDT

The real winner of the debate? Mitt Romney's line about "binders full of women," which became an instant meme. The Atlantic Wire and CNN round up some of the fun the Internet had with the line:

  • One picture going around shows Hugh Hefner in a library with the line, "Binders full of women? Oh sure, I've got hundreds of them."
  • A few of those "badass Hillary Clinton" pictures popped up, showing the jetsetting, sunglasses-wearing, text-messaging Clinton saying things like, "Romney still uses binders? LOL," and "Where's my binder?" as a texting President Obama replies, "You're flying on it."

  • "I'm gonna pitch it as a show. BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN: a new show about women trapped in binders by rich men who never had to work 4 anything," tweeted Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.
  • "'Whole binders full of women' pretty much sums up Mitt Romney's campaign," tweeted Mother Jones.
  • "Binders full of women? Really, Mitt? Women aren't just resumes. They're people, like your corporations," tweeted "Big Bird."
  • "Binders full of women cost 77 cents, while binders full of men cost $1," posted Joi Jamison on Facebook.
  • And, of course, there are a number of new Twitter accounts associated with the phrase, and at least one Tumblr.
The kicker? Romney's claim might not even be true. David Bernstein at the Boston Phoenix says that Romney didn't go out in search of those binders—they were brought to him by a bipartisan group of women that had been compiling them before the election. Romney then appointed 13 women to senior positions, but only "to head departments and agencies that he didn't care about—and in some cases, that he quite specifically wanted to not really do anything." For more reaction to the rest of the debate, Click here. (More binders full of women stories.)

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