If we’re spending a lot of time on Jim Acosta’s new book, “Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America,” it’s only because it’s exactly what we expected and so much more — even critics like NPR are acknowledging the book is more a compilation of “Dear Diary” entries than a serious treatise on any First Amendment threats to journalism.

We’ve already covered excerpts (many that Acosta has posted himself), but we really wanted to cover this one because people are asking the same question we were asking way back in 2012 — how was Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment even considered a “gaffe,” to the point where “slutty woman in binder” because the must-have Halloween costume of 2012, as well as form of protest wear. Check out this bunch:

Could the media have had a part in stirring it up?

In his book, Acosta casually mentions the “binders” incident as a prime example of how Romney was a “disastrous” candidate, adding that such “gaffes” seem “downright quaint now." So close – but Acosta misses his moment of self-realization by this much.https://t.co/2VMv5fbOqq — T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) June 14, 2019

For Jim Acosta, self-realization is surrounded by a force field that would have been the envy of Starfleet. — Chris McKeever (@TheRealMcKeever) June 14, 2019

The Binders “gaffe” remains perhaps the single best example of media group think and Dem echo chamber hysteria of recent years. Romney literally described doing precisely what feminists want politicians to do and he was mocked as an out of touch sexist for it. https://t.co/nUsWFydrwh — Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) June 15, 2019

The Washington Examiner reports:

Astonishingly, Acosta points to, among other things, the “binders full of women” incident from the second 2012 presidential debate as a prime example of Romney’s supposedly “disastrous” incompetence. You probably remember the moment: The Republican presidential candidate said of his efforts as governor to address pay equity, “I had the chance to pull together a cabinet, and all the applicants seemed to be men. […] 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.” … Voters were told simply that Romney had said a terrible thing because, well, political and media professionals said so. This alleged “gaffe,” like so many of the Romney “controversies” and “scandals” hyped during the 2012 election, was nothing more than manufactured outrage. There was nothing offensive or even terribly awkward about what Romney said, except insofar as newsrooms chose to convince themselves and others.

It was a meme that started trending on twitter and the journo cool kids table had to join in to go with the crowd. To this day not a single one of them will explain how or why it was a gaffe. https://t.co/mLVshyVE8z — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) June 15, 2019

To this day, they still can't explain what was wrong with it, or funny about it, or anything. — Some guy tweeted something ??‍♂️ (@jtLOL) June 15, 2019

He said "BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN"! How can you not see how wrong that is?! [/sarcasm] — Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) June 15, 2019

Binders filled with the resumes of women to be considered for hiring. Only in the Democratic Party – Media Propaganda Complex could that be turned into some sort of gender holocaust! — Big Apple Infidel ? (@BigAppleInfidel) June 14, 2019

Given how dumb things have gotten in recent years, I'm starting to think they thought he meant he had actual women in actual binders. Which would be bad. And also physically impossible. — Eric Spencer (@JustEric) June 15, 2019

Why didn’t Romney stand up for himself and correct the media? Is there just a gentlemen’s agreement that the media are the refs and you have to respect their calls? I never got it. I don’t really expect an answer, but this isn’t a rhetorical question either. — Boomieleaks (@notwokieleaks) June 15, 2019

Easier said than done, for sure. Explain it to the protesters wearing giant cardboard binders they made after a trip to the craft store.

"I had come to see the Romney the rest of America didn’t really get to meet." Yet it was Acosta's and other journalists' job to show us the real Mitt Romney. If we didn't see the real Romney, it was their doing. — Shan (@PNWShan) June 15, 2019

It belies Acosta's notions of what it means to be presidential: well spoken, articulate, and on message with whatever politically correct sentiment is fashionable at the moment. Results, actions, authenticity, convictions? Meh. — Bayou_Con (@Bayou_Con) June 15, 2019

And now poor Jim has to deal with someone who actually fight back. — lisamay (@willwork4curls) June 14, 2019

It’s a dangerous time in America to wrestle the microphone away from some staffer in the White House Press Room because you don’t think your turn to showboat is over.

"It worked, didn't it? He didn't get elected." — Don't Wiretap Me Bro (@spongeworthy2) June 15, 2019

Fair. Some may push back on this, but it seems clear now that the reaction to "binders full of women" was drastically overblown, and the general freakout over Romney by many on my side may have made warnings about Trump seem less credible. The wolf shows up eventually. — Rafique Tucker (@Rafique979) June 15, 2019

“I cannot spare this man, he fights.” I have never been much of a Trump guy, but Lincoln’s famous quote about Grant has always seemed to sum up his appeal among the base after watching two decent men in a row be savaged in spite of their honor. He fights. — Brother Seamus (@WaynePelota) June 15, 2019

“Well, it was a gaffe in the sense that it gave us something to work with.” — Billy ??? (@Billy_r_ps) June 15, 2019

Romney was a gaffe machine, but Biden is somehow a respected statesman. No bias here. — James Bennett (@TheRealJamesFB) June 15, 2019

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