Letters to the Editor
-
Thanks.
I've been pretty critical of some of Joan's arguments and posts. But I do genuinely appreciate that she is willing to accept that most of us support Obama because of his positions on issues, because of his voting record, because of his experience and education (how nice would it be to have someone in the Oval Office who actually understands and respects the constitution!), and because (in my case, anyway) we luv Michelle.
For me, the plagiarism issue was a non starter because Obama has never claimed to have written every word in each of his speeches; because Patrick has admitted that they have worked on speeches together. All political speech writers like to borrow clever phrases and one-liners that they know will move a crowd. It's different than a political reporter who lifts paragraphs or unique descriptives from another writer and publishes them under her own byline. Furthermore, if you've ever found yourself transfixed by a black preacher on cable access TV or if you've seen any film footage of Martin Luther King, you know what Obama is trying to do and where he is coming from. So, you know, whatever.
As you might expect from an Obama supporter, I was really bothered by Hillary's claim that this is the first time that the press has been fair. I was bothered by her camp trying to distance itself from its role in creating and promoting the story and I was completely turned off by the assertion that it is not a big deal when Hillary uses someone else's words but it is when Obama does.