pla·gia·rism [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.
2. something used and represented in this manner.
Emphasis mine.
Not to be a smart a** but I’ll be one:
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.
My emphasis. Obama didn’t say that he was quoting Patrick and he certainly imitated him quite closely. It doesn’t fit the first independent clause but it fits the second.
Zach: It appears Senator Obama thinks he should have sourced Governor Patrick:
“‘I’m sure I should have’ given credit to Patrick.” - Senator Barack Obama as reported by the Politico, February 18, 2008
Michael - what’s your point? Obama admitted he was wrong and should have given credit. Geez, you must just hate that.
Hmmm, since the Republicans all sound alike, who do they source? Rove?
Good one Grace!!!
Do I have your permission to “use” your words on another blog to drive this point??? I would say…”As Grace Kelly would put it….”
(they would think the Actress turned Princess of Monaco.)
A little something I “plaigarised” from NYT:
Mr. Patrick said he told Mr. Obama that he should respond to the criticism, and he shared language from his campaign with Mr. Obama’s speechwriters.
Mr. Patrick said he did not believe Mr. Obama should give him credit.
“Who knows who I am? The point is more important than whose argument it is,” said Mr. Patrick, who telephoned The New York Times at the request of the Obama campaign. “It’s a transcendent argument.”
So, where do you draw the line? My buddy on the DFL SCC sent this to me:
Hillary says talk is cheap. She said this in the winter of 2008. Did she give credit to:
Keith Richards who had an album back in the 80’s with the same title?
Bill Kristol had an October 2007 column titled Talk is Cheap.
Jim Gaskins has been peddling some product called Talk is Cheap on Bill O’Reilly’s site.
In late 2004, freelance writer and personal life coach Riva Pomerantz wrote a piece for aish.com, a jewish lifestyle magazine, titled Talk is Cheap.
And, we can’t leave out the talk is cheap (inc) website.
Give me a break. Desperate move.
I’m not an Obama supporter, but think he did nothing wrong. Just shows how petty the Clinton camp has become.
If Sen. Hillary Clinton believes that her case will cause Obama to lose steam, then she must think voters are dumb to want to vote for him. Let alone think that she is taking the moral high ground by bringing this up before the big Primaries she has set her hopes on winning.
Her campaign is struggling and she knows this.
Its very petty, but is a brilliant play by Clinton. The news cycle for the night before and during an all-day primary vote will be these allegations, adding a little bit of tarnish to her opponents campaign. And if Clinton responds to Obama’s defense with ‘he doesn’t want to play by the rules everyone else plays by’, they get a little high-brow race-baiting in under the radar.
Mind you, its the sort of behavior that turned me off to Clinton years ago, but heh, they do know how to slime.
“but heh, they do know how to slime.”
True. And to give them full credit, they have always understood the news cycle with great precision.
I live to be quoted (in context).
Don’t forget Hillary stealing “this is where the fun begins” from Han Solo.
Well, how about this definition, also from dictionary.com:
“non-issue: the state of something that has outlived its relevance.”
Or this:
“red herring: something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue.”
Think about how silly this is. First, it was probably one or a committee of speechwriters that wrote the line anyway, not the public servant — so does that mean that the speechwriter(s) really should be credited, or the guy who used it on the podium? And secondly, the guy who said it first said he didn’t mind that Obama used it. A complete non-issue.
This is why average people hate politics. I’m surprised you bought into it, Zack. What a disappointment.
Just so you know…this is only the beginning of what Team Clinton is going to do to Obama-mania. What are you all going to do when she wins the nomination?
This is going to be hilarious!
Senator Smith -
“Unauthorized” in the definition modifies both “use” and “close imitation.’
In other words, AUTHORIZED close imitation is not plagiarism.
I have heard numerous times lines in speeches reflecting FDR, the Founding Fathers, MLK, and JFK. Borrowing goes on all the time in the game called Politics. Hell!! Even in the industry I am in, we Costume Designers borrow ideas from one another , history most of all!!! If someone wants to copy one of my gowns, more power to them because I was inspired by someone else.
I have noticed that Hillary is trying to soften her image a bit, trying to come off as someone sympathetic to the down and out. When in reality, she wants the White House so bad, she will do what it takes to get it. Voters will see that not as a turn on, but turn off. She has been treading a tight line as to not get Obama’s racial makeup involved. Once she crosses that line, it is all over for her. Look what Bill did to lose South Carolina for her??
Tomorrow’s votes in Wisconsin and Hawaii will be close, but they will go to Obama.
Obama should have just changed it up a little, used some different famous inspiring quotes and some synonyms in his response to the nothing but fancy speeches attack like -“ask not what your country …” only an utterance. “just words” is clearly a unique way of framing it and should not have been plagerized. BTW what are the other most famous inspiring lines, I couldn’t think of them.
I wonder what Joe Biden thinks of all this?
Don’t know where the definition in question here came from, but the standard academic definition for plagiarism at the public and private two-year and four-year colleges I’ve taught at is “Intentional or unintentional borrowing of ideas as well as words from another source without attribution.” It’s been that way on my syllabi for years.
That said, Obama’s snippet is so “in the realm of common knowledge and utterances” that, given the context of it being a response to Clinton’s specific attack on his oratory, a charge of plagiarism is just plain silly.
It really doesn’t matter now, once the plagiarism tag is out there it sticks without specifics or reference. Nice going Clinton!
The fact that Obama plagiarized means little. The fact that Obama is distinguishing his “words” as comparable to that of Thomas Jefferson, FDR, JFK, and Martin Luther King is more alarming. Words do have power, and for those who follow him, he may be the next JFK or MLK, etc. It is premature (and a bit egotistical) to compare himself to such historical figures, though, when the grandest thing to have done is to have beat Alan Keyes for US Senate and filled up the Target Center. Those people were great not just because of their words, but their actions and the movements they inspired. Obama may be there someday, if his movement for “change” becomes a historical and pivotal transformation of American society. But Clinton is right to call him out on this, when the horse is being put so far ahead of the cart. If Obama was running on something grander than ephemeral change that is personified by himself and his followers, a movement that barely even existed a year ago, then perhaps I would give him greater credit.
Again, a desperate campaign resorting to desperate measures to regain the lead and momentum. Are a majority of voters going to care and not vote for Obama??? They’re smarter than Hillary gives them credit for.
Barack Obama wins Wisconsin with 3 times the votes McCain took over Huckabee??? Winning convinvingly 56% to Clinton’s 43%!!!
The negative ads did not do the work Se. Clinton thought they would. It’s an uphill climb for her now as Obama increases his margin of win over hers.
Yet still interesting to not, for every Republican vote, there are 3 Democrats voting. That has to be a concern for the McCain campaign come nearer to the election.