(1) Karl not Groucho :-)
Posted on 02/18/2008 11:28:24 AM PST by presidio9
Howard Wolfson, the Clinton campaign's communications director, today accused Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) of committing “plagiarism” in a speech in Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Wolfson made the explosive charge in an interview with Politico after suggesting as much in a conference call with reporters.
On the call, Wolfson said: “Sen. Obama is running on the strength of his rhetoric and the strength of his promises and, as we have seen in the last couple of days, he’s breaking his promises and his rhetoric isn’t his own.”
"When an author plagiarizes from another author there is damage done to two different parties. One is to the person he plagiarized from. The other is to the reader," said Wolfson.
Obama closely echoed a passage from a speech that Deval Patrick, now the Massachusetts governor, used at a campaign rally when he was running for that office in 2006.
The Clinton campaign circulated a pair of YouTube links of the two speeches on Sunday.
Here's Patrick at a rally for his gubernatorial campaign on Oct. 15, 2006, during the final stretch of his successful campaign against then-Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R):
“But her dismissive point, and I hear it a lot from her staff, is that all I have to offer is words — just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, [applause and cheers] that all men are created equal.’ [Sustained applause and cheers.] Just words – just words! ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words! ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’ Just words! ‘I have a dream.’ Just words!”
Here’s Obama on Saturday night at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Founders Day Gala in Milwaukee:
“Don’t tell me words don’t matter! ‘I have a dream.’ Just words. ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ Just words! [Applause.] ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words — just speeches!”
An Obama official said: “They're friends who share similar views and talk and trade good lines all the time.”
Obama apparently ad-libbed the remark, which was not in his text.
The Massachusetts governor said in a statement: “Sen. Obama and I are longtime friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language. The argument in question, on the value of words in the public square, is one about which he and I have spoken frequently before. Given the recent attacks from Sen. Clinton, I applaud him [for] responding in just the way he did.”
The Obama campaign immediately struck back with a document headlined: "Here are a couple of places Clinton freely borrowed rhetoric from Obama."
Among the examples are Clinton's use of Obama's signature chant "fired up and ready to go" in Davenport, Iowa, and later her echoing of his rally cry, "Yes, we can!"
The plagiarism wars are the nastiest turn yet in the Democratic presidential nomination race as the campaigns gird for clashes in debates in Texas and Ohio, to be followed by primaries in those states on March 4.
Extra butter on my popcorn, please! Shades of Plugs Biden...
Obama plagarized a friends comments that included famous MLK quotes.
So I guess Obama plagarized his friend and MLK.
THE CAMPAIGN WILL TAKE NO MONEY FROM PETER PAUL.
(1) Karl not Groucho :-)
This is the best the Clinton campaign can come up with? No wonder they’re losing.
I guarantee that Obama doesn’t write his own speeches, and neither does Hillary. The diff is that Obama can DELIVER speeches.
This sounds like a manufactured controversy. Heck, all politicians of a certain political leaning sound the same, because they are saying basically the same things.
Which amounts to, basically, nothing.
Appears the Clintons are very desparate nit-picking no substance people.
Didn't Bill Clinton steal the term "Bridge to the 21st Century". It was not an entirely original utterance that burst from his forked tongue.
Much ado about nothing....oh, oh, I must have heard that from someone else. Yes, I think so.
Perhaps, Putin is right, "at the least minimum, the head of state, should have a head." Mrs. Clinton clearly is not using hers, or it flew over the cuckoo's nest...
Yes, Mrs. Clinton language is a splendid thing, we all can use it, and express ourselves. We have an Amendment too, BTW, that protects it. Of course, being the small old petulant woman you are you don't like it other than for yourself.
Obama said he wrote this speech
Whenever I see, “Clinton aide accuses,” I just wanna’ LAUGH!!!
Obama called the charges ridiculous and said he wasn’t afaid to confront these charges head-on, adding that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Apparently when Democrats get into congress they have to attend a class call original thought, which is taught by Joe Biden.
.
JFK Speechwriter = TED SORENSEN
OBAMA Speechwriter = TED SORENSEN
.
Don’t you see the incredible irony and hypocrisy? Hillary accused Obama of being an empty suit- just words and no action. And how does Obama respond to the charge? He steals someone else’s speech.
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