Rhetoric So Airy You’ve Heard It Before: Obama Plagiarizes Speech Segments
Bumped to the top because this is just too good and it’s making national news. - Josh
“Just words” folks, just words…
Words first spoken by somebody else, now-Massachusetts-Governor Deval Patrick, in 2006:
And now by Barack Obama, last week:
Hat tip: Not Larry Sabato (cited because I am not a plagiarist)
February 18th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Wow, now that’s blatant.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Yeah. But if you’re going to steal someone’s words, shouldn’t you steal a GOOD speech?
February 18th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
The sad thing is that Obama’s reception was far worse…
February 18th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Yeesh and the Gov of Mass. is really unpopular now LOL
February 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Okay, so I get ready to blog this and I see somebody else beat me to the punch. Well, since I may have thought of posting this first (just didn’t get to it in time due to work constraints) maybe I can just claim it as my own since it is all “just words” after all.
For a candidate who has built himself up as the non-Washington guy, as the candidate of change and hope, this incident could have big implications (emphasis on “could” since we’re dealing with politics here). Barak Obama is supposed to be the honest, clean cut Democrat in this race. The worst thing for him right now his to have his young and not-so-young enthusiastic supporters suddenly start questioning how genuine he is. If this happened to Clinton she could have talked her way out of it, but Barak has a higher standard for himself and it will be interesting to see if he can pull out of this one.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hah! I scooped Sikma for once.
*does Snoopy dance*
Ahem.
Anyway, I doubt that this will in and of itself do in Barack Obama. But it adds to the building meme and storyline — one that is exceedingly dangerous to his candidacy — that he’s a phony teleprompter candidate who merely repeats good rhetoric prepared for him by others.
That such rhetoric is, well, copied without attribution is another important mark against him in building that case. There is little the media hates more than someone who is phony, and an important aspect of ending the media’s ongoing Obasm is to get them to turn their normally cynical eyes and perspectives toward him.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I also want to note that the blog “Not Larry Sabato” where I saw this was the first to draw significant attention to George Allen’s “macaca” comment (as you might recall the video of that did in Allen’s senate campaign and his presidential aspirations).
Not sure this is in “macaca” territory, but it’s interesting and damaging to Obama’s image.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Paging Joe Biden, Paging Joe Biden, Joe Biden please pick up the nearest courtesy phone in the lobby
February 19th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Biden is busy making sure Obama looks “articulate, bright and clean” before commenting.
What the heck was Hillary doing yesterday talking about “taking our country back” … I’m sorry, but Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Franklin and friends wouldn’t even talk to her … I don’t even think Hamilton would. They would have been busy getting the tar and feathers ready, no?