Presidential Debate No. 2: The Best Internet Reactions
In this election cycle, the Monday morning quarterbacking that takes place after major political events consists less of determining a winner than it does exploring what new Internet memes were birthed.
Nowhere has that been more evident than after Tuesday's debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney — the second of three verbal contests between the two presidential candidates before the election on Nov. 6. (The final debate will be held next Monday, Oct. 22).
Second presidential debate: What did President Obama find "offensive"?
When Romney opted to use the unfortunate wording "binders full of women" to illustrate his efforts to create a diversified Cabinet when he was governor of Massachusetts, the Internet latched onto the phrase faster than Felix Baumgartner plummeted to earth earlier this week. By the time the debate was even over, Romney's description had spawned a Facebook page (which had more than 275,000 "Likes" by mid-morning on Wednesday), a Twitter handle and, perhaps best of all, the website bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com, which features parody photos of everything from Paula Deen riding on a binder to Romney and Paul Ryan holding Carly Rae Jepsen hostage in a file folder.
But of course, that wasn't the only online response to the debate. The 90-minute event prompted more than 7.2 million tweets, according to official Twitter statistics, peaking at moments including a question on immigration reform, Obama discussing Romney's stance on China, and Romney's aforementioned binders comment. (See a minute-by-minute breakdown here.)
Here's a roundup of some of the best Twitter responses from celebrities:
Dane Cook (@DaneCook): "Obama & Romney walking around, talking over each other. This feels like I'm watching 8 Mile with rhyme-less free styling. #debate"
Jesse Williams (@iJesseWilliams): "Where does one find these "Binders full of women" who "need to be more flexible"? Asking for a friend."
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler): "I hear @Bravotv is renaming The Real Housewives "Binder Full Of Women"."
Kate Walsh (@katewalsh): "And the Oscar goes to: Mitt Romney for his portrayal of someone who cares about the middle class."
Jessica Capshaw (@JessicaCapshaw): "It's the least you could do. Really. "@katewalsh: Fine. I'll get married to solve the gun problem...!""
Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain): "Me thinks Mr. Romney proved once again why he should be President."
Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina): "Binder? I hardly know 'er! Heh. Or something. Wait, what's happening? -- Mitt Romney"
Keith Powell (@KeithPowell): "Something major happened last night, but all I can determine from twitter is that women like to be put in binders. We already KNEW that!"
Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack): "At least he didn't say "Binder full of black people.""
Eugene Mirman (@EugeneMirman): "Hopefully Romney will soon mend things with women voters by insisting they all have the potential to be amazing executive assistants."
Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump): "Debate showed--- these guys really hate each other. At one point it looked like they would come to blows."
Sherri Shepherd (@SherriEShepherd): "Whoever gave #POTUS the Red Bull...keep it coming! Pres Obama was on his game tonight.
Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler): "Oh, shiznat, Romney just got stuffed by Candy Crowley. That's like being dunked on by Jonah Hill."
Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks): "Romney really dislikes birds, Big and other."
Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt): ""Binders Full of Women" is my favorite Motley Crue album. #debate"
