NILES, Ohio (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that he doesn't think it's a big deal that he borrowed lines from his friend Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, although he probably should have given him credit.Patrick said during his gubernatorial campaign a year and a half ago that words matter, like "I have a dream" and "all men are created equal."
Obama used the same lines Saturday night in Wisconsin. Obama said that Patrick suggested he use the lines to respond to Hillary Rodham Clinton's suggestion that Obama is more of a talker than a doer.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson accused Obama of plagiarizing Patrick, and that's particularly troubling since Obama's appeal is based in large part on his rhetorical skills.
"It raises questions about the premise of his candidacy," Wolfson told reporters in a conference call. (Give me a break!)
Obama, D-Ill., says that's going too far.
"Now hold on a second. Let's see — I've written two books, wrote most of my speeches," Obama told reporters at a news conference after touring a titanium plant.
"I'm happy to give Deval credit, as I give credit to a lot people for spurring all kinds of ideas," he said. "But I think that it is fair to say that everything that we've been doing in generating excitement and the interest that people have in the election is based on the core belief in me that we need change in America."
Asked whether he wished he would have given him credit given the criticism he's facing, Obama responded: "I was on the stump, and he had suggested that we use these lines. I thought they were good lines. I'm sure I should have — didn't this time."
"I really don't think this is too big of a deal," he said. He said he's noticed Clinton using his phrases sometimes, like "it's time to turn the page" and "fired up, ready to go."
ABC News' Senior National Correspondent, Jake Tapper, recently posted this on his blog.
"In a conference call just now the Clinton campaign would not guarantee that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, has never used someone else's rhetoric without crediting them.
"I asked Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass, if they could assure the public that neither Clinton nor McGovern has ever done what Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, did when he used the rhetoric of Gov. Deval Patrick without footnoting him.
"They would not.
"In fact, Wolfson seemed to say it wouldn't be as big a deal if it were discovered that Clinton had 'lifted' such language.
'Sen. Clinton is not running on the strength of her rhetoric,' Wolfson said."
The old me would have really gotten angry by this, but I understand that this is the game of politics. Those for Clinton want to continue to emphasize the Obama is short on solutions when in actuality it is their rhetoric that fails to acknowledge that Obama has great detailed solutions on a host of positions on his web site. He has also been quite detailed in his speeches.
Then there are surrogats on the Clinton campaign who insist on whinning about how the press is giving Obama a pass. Grow up and campaign and be the best you.
Resorting to pettiness is nothing more than a sign of a desperate campaign. If Clinton was able to effectively communicate the spirit and substance of her message, this type of whinning would not be necessary.
If it is o.k. with Governor Deval Patrick, it sure is alright with me.
Alright, Clinton. What's next? We know your arsenol is full.
A portion of this story is courtesy of the Associated Press.
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