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Obama stealing speeches?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Write-brained, Feb 18, 2008.

  1. Didn't see this anywhere ... then again I haven't been following the general political threads, so sorry if it's a d_b.

    Personally I don't see the problem if Patrick doesn't care.

    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/18/obama.patrick/

    Similarities between the words of Sen. Barack Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick have raised eyebrows and attracted traffic on YouTube.

    A central passage in a speech Obama gave Saturday -- aimed at convincing voters that his campaign is not just about lofty rhetoric -- is adapted from one that Patrick used in his 2006 campaign, the Obama campaign said when asked about it.

    The controversy is lost on the Massachusetts governor, who endorsed Obama.

    Obama's campaign had Patrick call the New York Times over the weekend and issue a statement.

    "Senator Obama and I are long-time friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language," Patrick said in the statement. "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 Senator Clinton, I applaud him responding in just the way he did." Video Watch a comparsion of Obama's and Patrick's speeches »

    The Obama campaign also confirmed comments chief strategist David Axelrod -- an adviser on Obama's Senate campaign and Patrick's gubernatorial run -- made to the New York Times about the speeches.

    "They often riff off one another. They share a world view," Axelrod told the Times about Obama and Patrick. "Both of them are effective speakers whose words tend to get requoted and arguments tend to be embraced widely."

    Responding to attacks from Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton that he offers words while she offers action, Obama has been arguing that words matter.
     
  2. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    Really? Is that the way it works in journalism?
     
  3. STLIrish

    STLIrish Active Member

    Um, there's a world of difference between journalism and political speechwriting.
    Personally, I find it hard to get too worked up about this. But I'm sure some people will.
     
  4. not journalism, it's stumping. ideally he would give the guy credit but whatever ... not journalism so my standards are not their standards
     
  5. Where's everybody that would be shitting their pants if this was McCain? Oh, Yea, I forgot about the 146:1 ratio in our business.
     
  6. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    I actually don't think it's a huge deal (though it is a silly misstep by Obama, the kind he has so far managed to avoid). I also intuitively agree that the standard should be different, but I can't put my finger on why. Can you articulate it for me?
     
  7. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Please. The part of the speech that was Patrick's amounts to two words. "Just words?"

    The rest is quotes.

    Add in the fact that Patrick is a senior advisor on the Obama campaign, and, what do you have?

    A really desperate Clinton campaign that launched an all-out assault to try and make this a story the day before a primary.

    And it's politics, not journalism or academia. They borrow riffs all the time. The Obama camp pumped out a video of Hillary using lines from, among others, Jimmy Carter, John Edwards, and Obama himself earlier during this campaign.

    Much ado about not much.
     
  8. Italian_Stallion

    Italian_Stallion Active Member

    I have to say that I'm a little perturbed.
     
  9. Cape_Fear

    Cape_Fear Active Member

    I'm pretty sure I heard McCain's "I'm fired up and ready to go," from last week's speech somewhere, too.
     
  10. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    Extremely resonant punchline. Those aren't "just" two words. I think this really cuts into JFK III's oratory sheen.

    Chrissakes.
     
  11. I'd almost liken it to songwriting. Let's say I lift some of your lyrics out of respect or whatever. If you sue, I'll probably lose. If you don't sue, no big deal. Same with writing a book.

    Journalism is different because what I write doesn't belong to me, but the publication I write for. I can't give anyone permission to steal from me.
     
  12. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Why is there always a certain segment of the political spectrum that runs stampeding for the crybaby shit on political threads? The desperate need to be a victim always astounds me.

    Dude, the "issue" is being raised by Democrats. Grow up.

    If you think no one would ever make a big deal about a Democrat plagiarizing a speech, go ask Joe Biden.
     
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