We long have extolled the virtues of technology in establishing truth and outing liars. It has been a recurring theme in our reporting on my unlawful termination at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). And it might have decided last night's presidential debate.
My employment matter, of course, is minute in comparison to the weighty topics that President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney debated in Hempstead, New York. But I have come to appreciate the importance of a recording that can clear up muddy waters. I have a feeling that President Obama shares that appreciation this morning.
In this little corner of the world, an audiotape proves that I was fired because of my reporting about the political prosecution of former Democratic governor Don Siegelman. That tape shows that UAB officials were lying when they claimed I was fired because of insubordination and declining performance. (See video at the end of this post.)
Mitt Romney experienced such an unmasking in last night's presidential debate. It might have been the single most dramatic moment of the campaign and perhaps re-established Obama as the favorite when voters go to the polls on November 6.
Romney stepped into trouble when the debate turned to the September 11 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya. The attacks killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, and Romney claimed that it took Obama two weeks to label them an act of terror. Obama challenged the GOP nominee to "look at the transcripts," and moderator Candy Crowley quickly established that the president had referred to the attacks as acts of terror the very next day.
Romney clearly thought he had found a soft spot with the president and intended to bully him on it. But Obama--with the help of Crowley and technology--turned the tables.
At the debate's conclusion, major networks provided video of Obama's September 12 statement from the White House Rose Garden. And transcripts from that day showed that Romney was lying during the debate. Here is the key segment of Obama's statement, as reported by Business Insider, just moments after last night's debate had ended:
No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.
Thanks to technology, and a clear record, we know without a doubt that Mitt Romney will resort to falsehoods in an effort to gain an upper hand in the election. Why does that issue hit so close to home for me? The following video, which unmasks my former employer as a liar and a bully, tells the story:
