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'Binders full of women': What's the social media buzz about?

'Binders full of women': Romney used the phrase in answering a question about income equality for women. 'Binders full of women' now has a Twitter hashtag, and at least 20 Facebook accounts.

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REUTERS/Mike Segar
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (L) and President Barack Obama gesture towards each other during the town-hall style presidential debate in Hempstead, New York, October 16, 2012. Romney said that as governor of Massachusetts he got 'whole binders full of women' as qualified to work in his cabinet.
  • By Oskar Garcia Associated Press

Move over Big Bird, these binders are full of women.

The offhand phrase from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday night was one of many topics that pinballed across social networks, as users instantly weighed in on moments from his debate with President Obama.

As with their first debate, for many users it was less about picking an instant winner and a loser and more about dissecting how the candidates relate to everyday Americans.

Here are some of the key online trends from the night:

— BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN: Yes, it now has its own Twitter account, (at) Romneys_Binder, with more than 12,000 followers before the debate ended. On Facebook, it has nearly 20 different Facebook pages, including one with nearly 136,000 likes. The parodies started pouring in after Romney said that while he was governor of Massachusetts, he sought qualified women for his administration. Romney said he went to "a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks?,' and they brought us whole binders full of women."

RECOMMENDED: Are you more (or less) conservative than Mitt Romney? Take the quiz

The "binders full of women" phrase was launched by a question from town-hall debate participant Katherine Fenton. She asked Obama: "In what new ways do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?"

After Obama answered, Romney took a swing at the question.

Romney, who served as governor of Massachusetts, said he "learned a great deal" about the inequalities between men and women in the workplace when he was chief executive of his state.

"I had the chance to pull together a cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men," Romney said. "And I – and I went to my staff, and I said, 'How come all the people for these jobs are – are all men?' They said, 'Well, these are the people that have the qualifications.' "

Romney requested "a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet."

"I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks?,' and they brought us whole binders full of women," Romney said.

Also generating a response within social media:

— GET THE TRANSCRIPT: "Big Bird and Planned Parenthood" was the first of several Obama phrases that social media users shared throughout the night, but Obama's "Get the transcript" retort to Romney over the labeling an attack on a US consulate in Libya as an act of terror drew volumes of quick, passionate responses from both Obama and Romney supporters on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. Obama fans praised the president for calling Romney on his claim that Obama waited to label the attack terrorism, while Romney fans accused Obama of not being fully truthful. The day after the Sept. 11 attack, Obama said: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation."

— THE QUESTIONERS: The everyday Americans who asked questions of Obama and Romney in the town hall-style debate took center stage in conversations on Twitter, even more than moderator Candy Crowley. At least four questioners, including college student Jeremy Epstein, became trending topics on the network. "Joe the Plumber" also trended because of the comparisons with a reference to Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher, who in 2008 became a household name after asking Obama about small business during a campaign stop.

— CROWLEY VS. LEHRER VS. RADDATZ: Crowley's performance was highly scrutinized, but the CNN personality was mostly spared the scathing reviews given to PBS's Jim Lehrer after his turn moderating the first debate. Many users, however, made "Where's Martha" a trending topic, speculating about whether ABC's Martha Raddatz would have been a good choice after her widely praised handling of the vice presidential debate.

— THE 47 PERCENT: Romney's now-famous "47 percent" comment finally made a cameo, instantly driving Reddit and Twitter users to weigh in. Romney's comment that he's concerned with 100 percent of Americans led users to compare it to the caught-on-camera moment from a fundraiser, and Obama generated even more responses when he mentioned it in his closing comments.

RECOMMENDED: Are you more (or less) liberal than Barack Obama? Take the quiz

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Oskar Garcia can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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