Melania Trump plagiarized speech. Big deal?

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 10:21 pm

Amarante wrote:

The difference is that Obama admitted it.

The Trump campaign continues to deny. That is what makes it remarkable. They lie and deny about obvious stuff instead of just saying yup I screwed up, sorry.

And of course there is certainly something odd when you plagiarize the childhood of your political opponent. That irony is really funny.

Obama did not quite "admit". He certainly did not take any moral accountability, or say "I screwed up, sorry".

Nope. He blamed people's disaffection with politics on the journalists, for confronting him.

Also rather ironic in that case, as the very text he plagiarized was about the value and importance of words.

Honestly, this is splitting hairs. Either they both get a pass, or neither does.

Maya

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 10:35 pm

amother wrote:

You stated your opinion and I stated mine
Calling somebody a stiff botoxed robot is not about beauty standards? You are insulting her based on her looks it doesn't matter what you were alluding to.

No, I wasn't commenting on her beauty. The Botox comment is more of an indication of her stiffness, like a robot, where her face doesn't give clues as to what she's feeling or thinking, as long as she's just parroting what she was told to say.

Although there's nothing wrong with stating YOUR opinion of their looks. Smile

(My opinion is that Melania is not pretty and I don't see why people think she is.)

Amarante

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 11:09 pm

amother wrote:

That's not what he said. He admitted it. Again, I think the denial is more telling than the actual plagiarism although plagiarizing the personal sentiments and recollections of someone else's no less a political opponent is ironic.

Obama's statement admitted it

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02......html

During a news conference here, Mr. Obama said he and Mr. Patrick “trade ideas all the time.” Asked if he should have given credit to Mr. Patrick, he said, “I’m sure I should have,” but he said he doubted that voters were concerned by the dust-up.

“I’m happy to give Deval credit, as I give to a lot of people for spurring all kinds of ideas,” he said. “But I think it’s fair to say that everything we’ve been doing and generating excitement and the interest that people have had in the elections is based on the core belief in me that we need change in America.”

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Jul 19 2016, 11:32 pm

Amarante wrote:

Yes, Obama eventually was forced to acknowledge it, but he certainly took no responsibility.

His very acknowledgment was rather pathetic--an attempt to make it look like a mere oversight that he forgot to give proper attribution, or even better, implying that they weren't actually Patrick's ideas, they were the result of a discussion between himself and Patrick.

See, no attribution needed, because no plagiarism was committed.

Best part---Obama's statement came an entire 3 months after his plagiarism. That's not exactly a readiness to admit wrongdoing.

As to the content. One can argue that the political rhetoric of a candidate is far more serious than mere family background statements of a candidate's wife.

Give it time. Maybe in 3 months, Melania will issue an equivalent type of non-apology. Oh, wait. Three months is....

Fox

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 2:11 am

Well, the drama quotient in conservative circles certainly got bumped up this evening!

I can't decide if Twitter is acting as a proxy of the Republicans to deflect interest from Melania's speech or whether they are just really ineffective leftists.

Whatever the case, #FreeMilo is still trending and my DD, Clementine, desperately wants a t-shirt.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 5:20 am

This is what I read on Breitbart yesterday (take that for what it's worth.)

Michelle Obama plagiarized her speech straight from Saul Alinsky. When asked about it, she said it was because "He was such a mentor and influence on me."

Melonia used that speech almost word for word, as a SATIRE. It's like saying that The Onion plagiarizes MSNBC.

Did anyone see the Steve Martin movie, "The Jerk"? It's in the same vein of humor.

Fox

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 9:40 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

Are you talking about Ben Kew's article-et? I think that's more a case of Milo "having us on" as he would say. And Breitbart of capitalizing on the current Twitter kerfluffle with rather dubious "news."

Though I would agree that the press and those of us relying on them for our information are woefully naive about the use of diversionary tactics in public life. I would totally buy into the notion that the Trump campaign would prefer that we argue about Melania's speech than dig into deeper, more nuanced matters where the narrative can't be as easily controlled.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 12:20 pm

Fox wrote:

I love Milo for the entertainment value. He makes some good points at times, but most often I'm not sure he even believes half of the stuff he's saying. He's really good at promoting his brand, and taking the most oppositional position in order to get more clicks and views.

I'd hang out and have drinks with him, but I wouldn't take anything he says as gospel truth. I just liked the theory that the speech was done intentionally tongue in cheek.

saw50st8

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 12:22 pm

flowerpower wrote:

The liberals are having a hayday!!! I don't think it's a big deal. She isn't running for president and she didn't write her speech either.

She claimed to have written her speech, otherwise I would feel bad for her.

Is this going to make or break the election? No, but I find the memes generated from this hilarious.

Raisin

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 1:07 pm

saw50st8 wrote:

She claimed to have written her speech, otherwise I would feel bad for her.

Is this going to make or break the election? No, but I find the memes generated from this hilarious.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07.....?_r=0

According to this article two top speechwriters were hired to write the speech. Melania rejected most of this speech and decided to write her own, with the help of a friend. They looked at past first ladies speeches for inspiration. Nobody thought to run the speech through a check for plagarism. (available for free online) This was the result.

I'm sure she's a nice lady, but I am guessing her brains were not the reason Trump married her.

Fox

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 1:50 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

Oh my gosh, your avatar - Squeeeeeeeee! #FreeMilo @Nero

You don't know the half of it!

Clementine, my DD, became a big fan after the Sexodous article. She's, ahem, kind of outspoken, but all of her extended circle of friends just yawned whenever she talked about his latest hijinks.

Well, now that @Nero has a higher profile, it seems he's developed a huge fan base of conservative yeshiva bochrim and young working guys who want to get to know a girl who has a snootful of things to say about third wave feminism and can quote BasedMom verbatim. I kid you not, she's gotten inquiries from every possible corner.

So what happens if she marries one of these guys? Do I have to pay shadchan gelt to Milo or CHS? Or is it enough to buy a t-shirt? Does the chosson get the pearl bracelet in the yichud room? I tell you, it's not easy being a parent.

marina

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 2:12 pm

1. Melania's alleged lies completely incomparable to Hillary's alleged lies, and that's why the latter was investigated by the FBI for a year while the other one is a laughingstock for a few days. All is as it should be.

2. Melania's plagiarism incomparable to Obama's b/c not as blatant and not as word for word and not about HIS OWN FAMILY VALUES and values not cribbed from pple who allegedly destroyed the world and not when we first met him.

If you're going to plagiarize, look, take something else- don't plagiarize your unique family values, the very worth that you supposedly bring to the table. And if you're going to plagiarize your family's values, at least do it from someone you explicitly admire. Not someone whose misplaced priorities are at the heart of your husband's campaign.

The memes are by far the best.

PinkFridge

Wed, Jul 20 2016, 2:52 pm

sequoia wrote:

I remember when a student government candidate at Columbia decided to run a "realistic" campaign. The posters said the following:

The Core will not be abolished
Sophomores will not get singles in EC [a desirable dorm]
Engineering students won't get out of chem

I don't recall if they were elected or not, but the lack of unrealistic promises was refreshing.

Yes, and I just saw a cartoon (Bizarro?) of an honest door to door salesman.