Much Ado About Co-opting Catchphrases
The Clinton campaign held a conference call Monday, led by Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern and Communications Dir. Howard Wolfson, to discuss Barack Obama's use this weekend in WI of a key chunk of a 2006 Deval Patrick speech. The Clinton supporters argued that by lifting -- or borrowing, or echoing, depending on one's view -- Patrick's lines about the power of words Obama "raises questions about the premise of his candidacy."
"If you use someone else's words or someone else's ideas, I think you should credit them," McGovern said, adding that Obama's use of the Massachusetts governor's words without attribution made those words less inspiring, less authentic and more politically calculating. He also argued Obama's economic plan was just like Clinton's and that the American president should be someone who can come up with original ideas.
(NOTE -- David Axelrod, a top Obama strategist, helped run Patrick's 2006 gube campaign in MA. Patrick is an Obama supporter.)
Wolfson said Clinton was "not running to be Orator in Chief" but to be president, but that Obama was "fundamentally" running on the strength of his rhetoric and the strength of his promises, because he has not had a lengthy career in public life. He also said Obama was asking the public to judge him on his promises and had broken them, most recently by backing away from a pledge to take public financing in the general election if nominated.
The call seemed sure to invite increased scrutiny of the two candidates' speeches in the coming weeks and possibly even extensive research into their past speeches to look for examples of "lifted" passages.
Clinton has been using rhetorical flourishes reminiscent of Obama lately. Here's a recent example from her speech at the Jefferson Jackson dinner in Richmond, VA, Feb. 9:
"I am ready to make your case, because your voices are the change we seek," she said, echoing a similar line from Obama's Super Tuesday speech in Chicago: "We are the ones we've been waiting for, we are the change we seek." (The first part of the quote is frequently attributed to elders from the Native American Hopi culture, a saying Maria Shriver cited during her endorsement of Obama.)
But when one reporter pointed out that Clinton had used the Obama slogan "Fired up ready to go" in a speech, Wolfson argued they were not making an issue about whether one of the candidates had strung a few words together from another, but about Obama's decision to use a major chunk of another politician's speech and repeat it almost verbatim. He also suggested Obama had used a line in his presidential announcement that was very similar to rhetoric used by John Edwards when he made his presidential announcement in 2003.
In answering questions about whether it was acceptable to use the language of a friend who approves of its use, Wolfson argued the issue was that the public did not know Obama's words were not his own. By contrast, he said that it was possible the New York senator had used Bill Clinton's phrase "bridge to the 21st century", but that if she had, the public probably knew where it came from.
(NBC/NJ's ATHENA JONES)
Instead of saying:
"[Duval Patrick] has occasionally used lines of mine. I have occasionally used some words of his ... I'm sure I should have [given credit to Patrick]."
Obama should have said:
"I was raised to believe it is a mark of character to admit one's mistakes. And I admit not giving credit to Patrick was a mistake. The question is: When will Hillary Clinton admit her Iraq War vote was a mistake?"
Callimaco-
So he should use your words? Doesn't he have anything original to say?
Hillary has been chanting "Yes we will" and nobody is calling her on this!
...that's because everyone and their mother since Truman has used "yes we can." Imply that that belongs to one candidate is like saying John Kerry ripped off "Thank you and God Bless America" from George Bush.
Same old dirty tricks. Hillary has been stealing Obama's words and policy from the beginning of the race! She's also using the language of John Edwards now. Someone in the press should call her on it. The Hillary camp's making a fight out of this is incredibly petty -- and pitifully desperate-sounding. -- Mod
Are you serious?? Has the Clinton camp sunk so low as to do anything to win no matter how disgusting and underhanded it might be? Plagarism?? Are you serious?? If this is the bar that Hillary's hack opertive Wolfson sets then everyone in America is gulity of it. How many people in America repeated the phrase "Where's the beef?". We heard it in songs and commericals and everyday people on the street. It almost became a phenomenon on its own. And yet you didn't hear the average Joe say "Where's the beef?" and then follow it with a footnote that someone else actually first said this on such a date. It is incredibly ridiculous and nobody cares. How is this debate providing healthcare for everyone and helping strengthen the middle class?
At least Obama knows where he got the sentence from and even got permission from Gov. Deval to use the sentence in his speeches. I have no idea who first coined the phrase "Where's the Beef" but that hasn't stopped anyone in America from using this phrase.
E Nelson-
"Where's the beef?"
Clara Peller, Wendy's, 1984
I'm waiting for the report of Obama getting caught not leaving decent tips at restaurants. Now that'll be a good indicator for me if he'll be a good president or not.
This has got to be the stupidest argument yet. To think that Hillary Clinton writes her own speeches in her own words.
"All hat and no cattle." I remember HRC throwing that phrase around just last week.
Barack, let's win big in WI and Texas and put these bumpkins out to pasture.
If all you have is rhetoric it should at least be authentic.
OBAMA IS SUCH A LYING FAKE!
And here he is defending his plagiarims? Kids in school have been kicked out of college for doing that... I wonder if he got to harvard law review becasue he passed off someone's work as his own... hmm...
I guess the "just words" speech hit a chord. Should Senator Obama have said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" FDR said that. Just words. "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" JFK said that. Just words.
The Clinton attack shows how effective the speech is. They seem to be afraid of "just words."
It is exhausting and draining the way Hillary excercise politics. No wonder so many people turned away from from politics and the belief that politicians are all the same. No wonder how her and former president Clinton have such a hard time to get things done.
We have been running in circles, at times to a better part of the cicle and at times to a worst one. But the circle is inside a box. Do we want to change to a better part of the circle or we want out of the box and move towards the real possibility of a better America and a better World?
VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA!
It is exhausting and draining the way Hillary excercise politics. No wonder so many people turned away from from politics and the belief that politicians are all the same. No wonder how her and former president Clinton have such a hard time to get things done.
We have been running in circles, at times to a better part of the cicle and at times to a worst one. But the circle is inside a box. Do we want to change to a better part of the circle or we want out of the box and move towards the real possibility of a better America and a better World?
VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA!
Just like a woman, picky, picky, picky. None of us could say anything if we had to recall where we had first heard the words, and who in making a speech is going to stop in the middle of it and say who he/she had heard it from way back when. Besides how great that a person is intelligent enough to know a good answer. Oh Hillary, pettiness isn't an asset.
Just like a woman, picky, picky, picky. None of us could say anything if we had to recall where we had first heard the words, and who in making a speech is going to stop in the middle of it and say who he/she had heard it from way back when. Besides how great that a person is intelligent enough to know a good answer. Oh Hillary, pettiness isn't an asset.
Just like a woman, picky, picky, picky. None of us could say anything if we had to recall where we had first heard the words, and who in making a speech is going to stop in the middle of it and say who he/she had heard it from way back when. Besides how great that a person is intelligent enough to know a good answer. Oh Hillary, pettiness isn't an asset.
The Clinton campaign is in panic mode. They are reverting back to negative campaign strategies and not realizing that they are showing Americans their true colors. They have tried everything against Obama and nothing sticks.
Obama is the "PAM MAN"!
Barack has not strayed from his original campaign platform and is succeeding where Hillary has failed. How come Hillary can't find a "solution" on how to win??? Isn't she the "solutions" candidate?
The success of the Obama campaign in itself shows his capacity for leadership and strategic thinking. It has always stayed on message because his is the right one...based on HOPE, TRUTH, INTEGRITY and wanting to change what is wrong with America.
If the public was unaware that the words were used before--what are we--retarded? Where did the original user make his speech in a closet? If he made it in public--we all heard it before--trust us, it is not really just the oratory that Obama that is inspiring, it is his inclusiveness, not just to people in other parties--but to Americans to take back their government and stop making a political elite club. Hilary IS part of the political elite club and has all the games, bribes, extortions and intrigue down pat.What she does not have is the will of the people--you can call it a vote for Obama and inclusiveness or a vote against Hilary and divisiveness. Either way, it is pretty clear--we don't want Hitlery--no matter how well connected and shmoozy she and Bill are with the Washington elite.
Oh and fr the record--WRITTEN text is plagarized--meaning when one appropriates and takes credit for the published or written or copywritten work of another. Words that are simply the remarks of another are called "quotes" and as such, unless copywritten or coined and repeatedly used--enter the public venue. There is really no such thing as plagarizing a quote and only a very petty person would expect every sentence to be parsed and attributed to the originator (if it is even known). The fact is--to plagarize, Obama would have to not have permission from the originator (he did) and he would have had to write it and state it was by him--did he do that? If not--Hitlery and crew better dig deeper, because if that is all they have--they are in deep shitttt--and I'm not the first to say that--but I don't know who said it first. Hitlery can't even run a successful campaign--she can't even keep her platform or personnel united behind her. Firings, replacements, losing delegates....if this is the best she can do for such a small org--imagine her in charge of America--shades of corrupt, mismanaging Bushdom---from day 1? LOL
The only thing I have to say is that Obama's response to the Clinton campaign's accusation is nothing short of amazing.
He admits to using the Governor's words and doesn't apologize. In my eyes this simply adds to the charisma that is the entire reason that I support him in the first place.
OBAMA WON
OBAMA WON