“For 14 days, he refused to call it an act of terror,” Romney said. Obama told CNN’s Candy Crowley, who was moderating the debate, to “check the transcript.” Crowley obliged the president’s request, and told Romney, “He did in fact, sir, call it an act of terror.”

Crowley offered what appeared to be a definitive fact check to what was at best a nuanced question. 

Obama had been campaigning asserting that the threat of terrorism was waning, so the Benghazi attack occurring so close to the election was damaging. However, Crowley’s save likely helped him and the administration weather the storm.

This article first appeared in The Daily Signal, a publication of the Heritage Foundation.

Image: Reuters.