The unemployed 23-year-old behind the 'binders full of women' meme

Veronica De Souza was laid off mere hours before the debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama, but she's certainly high-profile now

Binders full of women tumblr
(Image credit: Screen shot, Binders full of women)

In the aftermath of the presidential debate, the internet has been flooded with jokes mocking Mitt Romney's awkward claim that his staff brought him "binders full of women" when he was looking for candidates to appoint to his cabinet as governor of Massachusetts. Photoshopped images of Trapper Keepers have never enjoyed such cultural currency, and other cheeky images feature Bill Clinton, Lord Of The Rings, and Beyonce. Many of them come from a tumblr account that a quick-thinking young graduate, Veronica De Souza, created mere moments after the words escaped Romney's lips. And her sudden celebrity couldn't be better timed, says Leslie Kwoh at The Wall Street Journal:

In a move that illustrates the difficulties many young workers face these days, the 23-year-old learned she was being laid off from her job as a social media manager at a technology startup just hours before Tuesday’s debate.

“This insane thing that happened overnight might actually save my life right now, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” said the 2011 Hofstra University graduate, reached Wednesday at her home in Brooklyn. “I haven’t actually had time to put my resume together.”

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So will Romney's loss turn out to be her long-term gain? De Souza tells the Journal that she's already been contacted about several jobs, though she has made no commitments yet.

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