Just (Borrowed) Words? Clinton Accuses Obama of Plagiarism

It’s an ugly term, isn’t it? Plagiarist. The very syllables reek of wrongdoing.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is trying to apply that unpleasant label to rival Barack Obama. The charge has torpedoed the campaigns of other politicians (see: Joe Biden, circa 1988). It has also damaged the reputations — and, in some cases, ruined the careers — of a number of academics.

In 2005 a dean at the University of Missouri at Kansas City stepped down after it was revealed that he borrowed portions of a speech from Cornel West. In that case, there were multiple, near-verbatim passages. The following year, the chancellor at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville was found to have taken parts of a speech from a Web site. He apologized.

But does what Mr. Obama did really rise to that level? One former speechwriter for Bill Clinton doesn’t think so. And there do seem to be a number of mitigating factors. For starters, he borrowed the lines in question from the governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, a friend and supporter, who has said he discussed the issue with him last summer. And considering that Mr. Obama actually writes many of his own speeches, making the case that “his rhetoric isn’t his own,” as one Clinton operative puts it, may be a challenge.

Whether the charge will stick or be dismissed remains to be seen. But it’s probably safe to assume that Mr. Obama, a former professor, will be certain to cite all his sources from now on.