Plagiarism Alert: Did Obama Steal His Lines from The Washington Post?
By SusanUnPC on September 10, 2008 at 10:36 AM in Barack Obama, Current Affairs, McCain/Palin 2008, Obamaisms, Plagiarism, Sexism
Just a short while ago, in live comments aired on CNN, Barack Obama had the audacity to say that his lipstick-on-a-pig line was an “innocent remark.”
Excuse me? “Innocent”? Firstly, it was clear from your own crowd’s reaction (gasps followed by applause) that they believed you were referring to Sarah Palin. Secondly, you may think that most of us are bitter, gun-clinging, Bible-totting “white trash,” but we’re not dumb enough to buy that you didn’t mean exactly what you said, Barack. Your remark was a direct response to Sarah Palin’s now forever-famous and -beloved ad lib about hockey moms in her RNC acceptance speech. And, you elitist, by calling Sarah Palin and John McCain “pigs,” you’re reinforcing the stereotype adopted by the D.C. elitists that anybody for McCain/Palin has to be “white trash.”
NOW look at what reporter Warner Todd Huston at Newsbusters.org discovered (via Memeorandum.com):
It is looking like Obama’s comments were not off the cuff, but scripted. And, not only were they scripted, but they were stolen without attribution from a Washington Post political cartoon by Tom Toles from September 5. Will the media notice?
I’m going to “cut to the chase” and show you the results of reporter Huston’s painstaking findings. I’ve cropped the cartoon to show the relevant part, and placed Obama’s actual transcript right beside it:
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Here’s the BARACK OBAMA transcript of his lines before he says, “you know, you can’t, you know, you you can put, ah, lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.” [sic]
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In other words, Newsbusters‘s Huston has proven that Obama’s preceding remarks, leading up to the insensitive “pig” line, are almost word for word from the Tom Toles cartoon from September 5.
First, here’s the Obama transcript, in full, from that segment of his off-teleprompter rally spech yesterday:
John McCain says he’s about change too. Exce- and and so I guess his whole angle is – watch out, George Bush – except for economic policy, healthcare policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy, and Karl-Rove-style politics, we’re really gonna shake things up in Washington.
That’s not change.
That’s that’s just callin’ sumpin’ the same thing somethin’ different.
But you know, you can’t, you know, you you can put, ah, lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.
Now, here’s the Washington Post cartoon, uncropped:
Read the full story at Newsbusters.org.
You can catch other bloggers’ reports on Obama’s, um, “borrowing” of those lines at Memeorandum.com.
If you want to get the big picture on just how huge this story has become, check out the full coverage of almost all the news stories and blog posts on every facet of “Lipstick-gate” at Memeorandum.com.
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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