Politics, and the People Who Are Bad At It (an Alabama Story)

Like many politicians in Alabama, mayoral candidate Dorothy Davidson was vying for the endorsement of well-known Univ. of Alabama football coach Nick Saban (likely because he’s known for being a charmer). She wanted to include a photo of her and Saban together, so like any normal person, she figured, "Why not just Photoshop myself on top of a photo of his wife and send it out in a mailer?"

I can’t see what could possibly go wrong here. Al.com has the story:

Bessemer Councilwoman Dorothy Davidson, who is running for mayor of the city, claims she secured Saban’s endorsement of her campaign three weeks ago. Davidson printed it on a color campaign flier that shows her and the coach smiling side by side on a golf course.

But University of Alabama athletics officials on Tuesday said there is no such endorsement. And the photo of Davidson and Saban together is not real, but digitally altered from another photo.

"Coach Saban has not been contacted for a political endorsement of any kind," Associate Athletics Director Jeff Purinton wrote in an e-mail response to questions from The Birmingham News.

Davidson, when contacted about the campaign ad and photo on Tuesday afternoon, at first said the image of her and Saban together was real and taken about three weeks ago. However, when presented later with a 2007 photo of Saban and his wife that appears to be the base photo onto which Davidson’s image was added, the candidate acknowledged that her image was digitally added to the 2007 photo.

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