Hillary Clinton’s Plagiarism Problem
What a stupid controversy, this supposed plagiarism thing. It is not just that the Clinton campaign is wrong and should apologize to Deval Patrick and Barack Obama. It isn’t even that the Clinton campaign should watch their own plagiarism problems with Hillary’s speeches. Their problem is they should stop acting like Repuiblicans.
By now everyone has heard that the Clinton campaign has accused the Barack Obama campaign of plagiarism, claiming the act places doubt over Mr. Obama’s whole campaign. It turns out a rhetorical strategy Mr. Obama used to counter the Clinton attacks that Obama is all words was first used by Deval Patrick. Indeed, it was Mr. Patrick who suggested that Barack Obama use the rhetorical strategy of noting that words like “I have a dream” and “all men are created equal” DO matter. The Clinton people, behind the leadership of spokesman Howard Wolfson, are attacking hard at Mr. Obama for listening to his friend Deval Patrick’s advice. Yeah, this is nothing but attack politics, and beneath anyone but a Republican.
As Bob Cesca notes, Hillary Clinton, if judged by the same standards ad Howard Wolfson is judging Barack Obama, has her own plagiarism problem. OK, Cesca’s is a silly tit for tat sort of article, but it reveals an important point. Hillary Clinton’s strategy, as exercised by Howard Wolfson, is a desperate example of the old politics people want to get beyond.
Let’s face it. Whether this is Hillary plagiarizing or Barack Obama listening to his friend Deval Partick and heeding his advice, this is not a Joe Biden moment, plagiarizing a whole speech by Neil Kinnock, an act that knocked Biden out of the 1988 Presidential primaries. This is Clinton campaign desperation, plain and simple. Whether that cadnidate is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, I do not want him or her to use the strategies of personal destruction Howard Wolfson is employing for the Clinton campaign. I do not want my candidate to act like a Republican. I’m thinking a whole bunch of Americans, Democrat and Independent, are with me on this one.
The plagiarism problem Hillary Clinton has is not that she’s used words or rhetorical strategies copied largely from Howard Dean or Jimmy Carter, as Bob Cesca suggests. Hillary Clinton’s problem is that she’s copying campaign strategies of personal destruction from Republicans.
yeah and obama’s people need to stop acting like bush groupies.
Write about it, somegirl. Let’s see the argument. Hillary’s people are campaigning like Rethuglicans, but I’m not seeing that among the Obama people. But if you’ve got some real gripe with Obama policies as opposed to Clinton ones, let’s hear it. I don’t see appreciable differences myself.
They say Barack has no experience in public service and does not offer solutions. Here are a list of some of Barack Obama’s accomplishments: During first (8) eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced 233 regarding healthcare reform, 125 on poverty and public assistance, 112 crime fighting bills, 97 economic bills, 60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills, 21 ethics reform bills, 15 gun control, 6 veterans affairs and many others. His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These included: **the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law), **The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (became law), **The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate, **The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (became law), **The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee), and many more. In all Barack Obama has Over 20 Years of Public Service and has offered many solutions on health care, global warming, the Iraq War, college tuition grant to students, education reform, the re-building of our infrastructure and much more.
Just because the Clintons repeat over and over again that Barack lack’s experience does not make it so.
And the Words Duval used in his prior speech, WERE NOT HIS WORDS EITHER, they are everyone’s words used in most political speeches today!
Yeah, this plagiarism charge is bullshit. But that’s what most Republican charges are. That this one came from Hillary, a Democrat, doesn’t make it less Republican.
i don’t see that much difference between obama and clinton either - the obamamainiacs are driving me nuts though. they act like bush supporters did in the heyday - remember when so many thought he was a savior too? their naivety may win him the nomination but i’m not so sure about the election. i’m glad the kids are excited, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for the country.
arg this whole story is bullshit!!! there’s nothing new under the sun, especially in politics. cripes.
The attacks by the Clinton camp do seem out of desperation.
Regarding the experience card — so a person served 25 years and made 25 years of bad decisions. Can the person say he or she is more expereinced than a person who has served a few years and has produced astounding results? The experience card doesn’t hold water if it results in more of the same policies and the same dismal outcomes. The president of the US sets the tone for the country and at this point we need the tone of hope, inspiration and a new direction for this country, this planet and humantiy. And Barack Obama is setting that tone.
uhm since the author specifically authorized Obama to use his words and, plagarism: pla·gia·rism /ˈpleɪdʒəˌrɪzəm, -dʒiəˌrɪz-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pley-juh-riz-uhm, -jee-uh-riz-] -noun-
1. the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.. .
NOTE: UNAUTHORIZED