I looked at the relevant blocks, and there were parts of about 8 lines that were copied word for word. Are those common thoughts and platitudes? Absolutely. The structure was basically identical. Could speech writers follow a template on something like this? I don't know. I tried to run it through a plagiary checker last night and struggled because it was bringing up news articles related to the comparison of these two speeches.
Here's the thing, I don't blame Melania. The campaign said in a statement she worked with a team of writers. They said they took fragments that reflected her thinking. A speech writer could have lifted this part of the speech because it conveyed similar thoughts to Melania (and most Americans), changed some words, and thought it would be okay.
There are others who thought, even right here on FR, that possibly it was sabotage. It was extremely odd how quickly this Jarrett Hill fellow was able to recall Michelle Obama's 2008 speech. It appears he remembered it before even Googling based on his Twitter.
This was discussed on CNN and MSNBC last night, and the consensus seemed to be to just admit it and move forward. Melania wasn't getting the heat really. Many seemed to think it was a speech writer who did this, and a person who is a Clinton supporter on CNN said that letting the speech writer go would alleviate the problem.
Manafort makes it clear that Melania herself didn't plagiarize which I don't believe she did. I would blame the speech writer. Manfort makes it clear that Trump isn't firing anyone and adds to CBS,
"They're a couple of phrases. It's basically three places in the speech and its fragments of words," he said. "She knew what she was doing. And she never cribbed from another speech without acknowledging that she was quoting somebody else."
"We're talking about words like compassion, love of family, respect," Manafort added. "These are not words that are unique words, that belong to the Obamas."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/paul-manafort-defends-melania-trumps-convention-speech/
Don’t know or care what the media is focusing on..at least she didn’t plagiarize (if she even did) for grades and journals like lefties do...Biden being one.
By the end of the week, this will all be a big “nothing burger.”
https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/755270989898878976
Michelle’s speechwriter used to work for Hillary... and probably now works for Melania!
There is one biiiiiig difference in the words spoken. Michelle was lying......she didn’t believe in the words.......Melania does. Platitudes that we all say and believe, but the Obamas have proven they don’t believe in those words. And why wasn’t Michelle accused of plagiarizing James Bond, 8 years ago, when she said ‘your word is your bond’???
Myopic focus on this ten seconds after an entire day of outstanding speeches (like the mother of the victim in Benghazi) tells us a whole LOT about the people trying to make this a big deal.
You mask your bias as concern. Your posting history proves that. You are an interloper here and we all know it.
Who gives a damn? No one who is inclined to vote for DT.
Never, ever show weakness in front of these scumbags. It’s only conroversial for those who weren’t going to vote for our side anyway. Screw ‘em.
I’m so ashamed of the media and the people who let the media indoctrinate them to be so childish, so hateful, so low in standards, that they would do what I’m hearing this morning on TV. There is NOTHING on the democratic side of the aisle, NOTHING obama or his wife ever said, that would be worth repeating or using. To see the media .. even Fox... repeat/post/broadcast such stupidity and nonsense as using that woman’s words.... Melania is so far above their pay grade....There is no comparison. God help this country with so many absolute morons available to spoil a person’s day before it began.
One more thing. .. it’s SO refreshing to see The Donald live and do, outside the box... !!
Smith is the story, not Melania; and Hillary’s employees (the media) are doing their damndest to bury the Smith speech. Don’t let the filthy low-life slugs get away with it.
‘As has often been said, the youth who loves his Alma Mater will always ask not “what can she do for me?” but “what can I do for her?”’ - George St John (JFK’s former headmaster at Choate School)
Howard Stern played the relevant lines this morning. I don’t see a big deal. I also feel this was a setup by one of the speech writers and that if this is all the left has then they can eff themselves. She did a fantastic job.
I might add that if her speech occurred during Bill O’Reilly’s program he would have bloviated right through it.
The media is being especially filthy this election cycle!
Even I am impressed - WHERE do they hold their secret meetings to organize this? It cannot be a coincidence- unless they all watch each other’s raw feeds
During my own political career, in the off-years I wasn't up for re-election I had my own side business of doing PR for candidates up to and including the state level....designing layout and writing text for their brochures and full-page ads, writing their speeches, etc. Even those "Report to My Constituents" articles you see on the editorial pages of your local newspapers weekly or bi-weekly are ghost-written. I wrote columns for my conservative state senator for two years.
There's nothing new here, it's been going on for decades and decades immemorial. Major-league politics is a time-consuming business and it's a given that those plying this particular trade will employ professional speech writers and ghost-writers for their columns, speeches, books and so-called "autobiographies".
My take on this "plagiarism" report is either that it's deliberate sabotage or that it's a lazy, sneaky or unstable writer within the Trump campaign staff.
Leni
Michelle Obama, in using those words, was "culturally appropriating" Western Civilization.
Please help wipe away her tears while marveling at her deft footwork.
3400 dead blacks in chicago sine obama took office
did you hear about that in the main stream media
michelle obozo: ALL THIS FOR A DAMN FLAG
NOW IS THE FIRST TIME I FEEL PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN
Does the Libtard media think that people nwocan not express feelings and motivation and how they raise their kids with values because the hideous michelle spewed a few words that now NO ONE ELSE CAN EXPRESS...
LIBTARDS ARE GRASPING AT STRAWS
All I can say is who f-in cares. F the liberal media with a rusty pike.
Well, I certainly hope that Melanie doesn’t steal moochie’s wardrobe, her army of “personal assistants”, her vacation spots worldwide, Air Fiorce Two, and, especially her taste.
I can’t see Melanie growing carrots on the White House grounds.
After a through sanitizing, and redecorating, she might even reopen the White House for public tours.
I doubt Melanie will do any vulgar dancing in public.
It very well may be that the structure of the speech was swiped from Michelle’s, but as that invites scrutiny between the early lives of these two women that our current First Lady does not come out well in, it might just be an elegant trap.
Do you think the court of public opinion has had enough of cases like the one between Zeppelin and Spirit?
“...there is more that unites us than divides us...”
If you watch another video, you will hear Hillary Rotten Clinton uttering the same phrase as she begs Burnout Sanders supporters to join her, with only the word "much" added.
I ran across this by pure accident. I think if you try hard, you can find many more examples of "plagiarism" by people of the DemocRat orientation.
Why isn't there any outrage when Hillary does it?