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Tuesday, February 19, 2008 12:00 AM

The "plagiarism" problem

Examining the charge of plagiarism Hillary Clinton's campaign has leveled against Barack Obama.

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  • Tuesday, February 19, 2008 09:52 AM

    Asking for complete attribution in speeches is absurd. Further, I don't think it was implied that Obama claimed ownership of that portion of the speech. Does anyone disagree?

    Well, yeah. I am an Obama voter and a college professor, and I see how I might get in a jam the next time I bust a kid for doing exactly what Obama did.

    In speeches, of course you do not cite sources. But you can give a little shout-out: "As my friend Hillary Clinton once said, 'Bill, put down that cigar.'"

    Anything not cited does, in fact, imply ownership.

    The aforementioned does not change my voting preferences even a little (Would that Edwards was still around!), but, yes, there are academic standards at work here among this gaggle of law profs.

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