Dartblog

Barack Obama was recently busted for plagiarism. Twenty years ago a nearly identical incident scuttled Joe Biden’s first round of presidential ambitions. Today reportage of Obama’s plagiarism can be found, on the CNN website at least, right underneath articles about his most recent primary victories. According to Obama, and apparently many Democrats in Wisconsin and elsewhere, it is not a big deal.

Perhaps Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard Law, all of which Obama attended, do not have equivalents of the Dartmouth ‘Honor Principle.’

For your interest, a textual comparison of the original and plagiarized remarks with links to their respective You Tube clips.

Mr. Deval Patrick: “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, that all men are created equal.’ 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!” 



Mr. Obama: “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! ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words — just speeches!”

For my part I am skeptical that Obama really offers ‘change we can believe in,’ as the slogan goes, when it is not even clear that the words he expects us to believe are his.