Hillary-Obama Catfight
February 18th, 2008 at 09:55pm Mark Noonan
The claws are out:
DE PERE, Wis. (AP) - Top advisers to Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of plagiarism Monday, the latest effort by her campaign to undermine the Illinois senator’s credibility.
Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, during a conference call with reporters, pointed to a speech Obama delivered at a Democratic Party dinner in Wisconsin Saturday that lifted lines from an address given last year by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
The Associated Press reported in January that Obama had borrowed ideas and speech points from Patrick, often without attribution. But with Obama now leading in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton’s campaign is using this example in an attempt to chip away at the premise of his candidacy.
The passage in question from Obama’s speech addressed the power of oratory, and he used it to rebut Clinton’s oft-repeated charge that he is long on rhetoric and short on policy specifics.
Desperation on the part of Hillary? What do you think?
UPDATE, by Matt Margolis: This actually isn’t a new story. People in Massachusetts are very familiar with Obama’s rhetoric because we know we’ve heard it all before from Deval Patrick
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats
15 Comments
1. liberalT | February 18th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
catfight? Since you are being obviously sexist care to throw out some racist remark for Obama while you are at it?
2. Casper | February 18th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Wow, next thing you know, we will find out that Hilary stole her speeches from Bill.
3. Christian Wright | February 18th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Dailykos has been all over this since yesterday.
It is Clinton lifting Obama’s catch phrases, and McCain’s too for that matter.
People a few days ago the Internet was buzzing about how Hillary was borrowing phrases from Obama and McCain. I guess someone on her staff noticed and they started this controversy to take the heat off her.
Obama has been saying from the beginning, “Yes, we can!” Recently Hillary has been saying, “Yes, we will!” in an obvious rip-off.
I read the transcript of Patrick and Obama’s speech. They both quote from the same source about words having power. That is not plagiarism.
If I quote something Ben Franklin said in a post and someone else uses the same quote in another post because it fit the subject matter, it is not plagiarism. Hillary is grasping at straws.
If Hillary keeps this up and wins the nomination by cheating (by counting MI and FL delegates or using the super delegates) there will be so much anger that Dems won’t vote for her and McCain will have smooth sailing into the White House.
She is putting her ambition before the best interests of the country and that in itself disqualifies her for the post.
Leave to the Dems to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
4. Almiranta | February 18th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Christian Wright shows a newfound awareness as he declaims: “Leave to the Dems to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory..”
As they did in Viet Nam, as they are trying to do in Iraq, even as they seem to be doing with the new Democrat majorities in the House and Senate…..
Good job, CW. We’ve seen it in action for years, and it’s good to see it’s starting to become evident to left-wingers as well.
Oh, as as for “putting …. ambitions before the best interests of the country…” the Dem party has been doing that for years, and we’ve been complaining about it.
Newt Gingrich has been working on a national campaign to stop doing that very thing, and to start putting the country ahead of D and R politicking. Can we count you in, CW?
5. Almiranta | February 18th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
liberalT is just way way too sensitive, and way way too eager to try to make something out of nothing.
A catfight is cats fighting. If we did not have boy cats as well as girl cats, well, we wouldn’t have no cats at all.
I suppose if the phrase used had been “dogfight” you could have cried “racism” because of the echoes of Michael Vick.
What’s a safe term? Duckfight?
LT does seem to get the vapors rather easily, doesn’t he?
6. GOP4ME | February 18th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Agreed. LT that cry of foul over the term catfight was very, very lame.
How do you get through each day? Are you incensed by everything?
“Hey, my Latte and Quiche are too hot!!! Racist!!!”
Sheesh…
7. NeoClown | February 19th, 2008 at 12:10 am
No one has ever complimented Hillary on her oratory gifts.
No one has said that Hillary’s speeches have the power to uplift, and give cause for hope.
On the other hand, everyone says Obama’s words have touched people in a way no words have touched people since JFK or MLK. Everyone says Obama is speaking from the heart and he is the genuine article.
Come to find out, Obama is a player. Obama is full of it, and a fake.
Obama and his cult are creepy weird.
8. SEW | February 19th, 2008 at 1:25 am
And clowns 1,2,3 and 6 think Hillary voters will vote for Hussein in the GE? LOL! Let the catfight continue. I will vote for Billary on March 4, let the trainwreck in Denver occur. Yes, yes, we can!
9. Kahn | February 19th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Just to be clear, what exactly were JFK’s biggest accomplishments?
Bay of Pigs?
Starting the Green Berets and SEAL’s (well, yah - I’m OK with those two)
Berlin Wall?
Cuban Missile Crisis?
Huge tax cut to stimulate the economy (hmmmmm)
Screwing anything that moved including a woman later identified as an East German spy?
The Peace Corps (OK on that)
DEMOCRATS - which of the above were his greatest accomplishments? Did I miss something? I actually like some of what he did; cutting taxes, creating special warfare units. But what do YOU think he actually accomplished? Really - did I miss something?
10. SEW | February 19th, 2008 at 1:47 am
He accomplished much more in that list than Hussein ever will. Unless you like Che-state. Yes, yes, he can.
11. Kahn | February 19th, 2008 at 1:48 am
“The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is often regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to escalating into a nuclear war.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis
I mean - you liberals DO realize that he almost brought us to nuclear war, right? I mean, I know you don’t think that’s important anymore as I never see you give credit to Bush 1 for disarming Iraq and Bush 2 for disarming Iran, Libya, and North Korea. But I actually remember my parents filling milk bottles with water and stocking up on food, batteries, and cramming sleeping stuff into the basement.
I guess a million dead is just a number. You have to see it yourself to understand. Oh wait, 14% of the military - oh well, I see you’re not really interested.
12. Christian Wright | February 19th, 2008 at 6:50 am
“I mean - you liberals DO realize that he almost brought us to nuclear war, right?”
It is Bush who backed out of the non-proliferation treaty and started developing nuke bunker busters to be used in Iran. It is Bush who is (even now) attempting to cover up that neocons sold nuke secrets to Pakistan through Turkey [read Sibel Edmonds story]. It is Bush who is putting an anti-missile defense systems in Eastern Europe and Asia. And it is Bush who defends and promotes a nuclear first strike policy.
And, of course, North Korea now had nukes because he refused to cut the same deal Clinton did until it was too late.
McCain is cut from the same cloth as Bush sans the alcohol and cocaine addition, history of business failures, and belief that God talks to him.
13. Kahn | February 19th, 2008 at 8:23 am
CW - During the Cuban Missile Crisis, nukes were in planes that were in the air wasiting for the word to go. People were hiding in their basements. Navy ships were closing on the Russians in the Caribbean with loaded weapons. American submarines were at sea with outer doors open and warshots loaded in the their torpedo tubes.
You really are obtuse aren’t you?
Meanwhile Bush’s father disarmed Iraq and Bush disarmed Iran, Libya, and North Korea.
It’s obvious you know nothing of it and just needed to get in a Bush shot. Your side used to understand what nuclear weapons are. Not anymore, I guess.
14. liberalT | February 19th, 2008 at 8:46 am
really its not me being to sensitive. Its quite clear exactly what Mark was alluding to. If McCain and Romney got in a fight would he refer to it as a catfight? I am not saying that it worth suing over but obviously Mark is very deeply sexist otherwise he wouldn’t have said that. He is very clearly trying to demean Hillary by that statement. Call me sensitive all you want but its an obvious fact
15. FmrMarine | February 19th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
LT
>>>>>Mark is very deeply sexist
otherwise he wouldn’t have said that
. He is very clearly trying to demean Hillary by that statement.<<<<
GOD you freeking MORONS, quit using your marxist talking points to settle every discussion.
A “cat fight” is a good analogy. If Mark used RUMBLE, JUMP IN, would that be racist?
WHO CARES? go back to your bong “MAN”