Wolfson Still Pounding Obama Plagiarism Story

By Cernig

A few minutes ago, the Corner's Byron York posted this:

Top Clinton campaign officials Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson are holding another conference call with reporters now. Wolfson is pointing to a "pattern" of alleged plagiarism by Barack Obama, suggesting that reporters look at a blog entry by ABC's Jake Tapper which suggests another example of Obama lifting material from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. In that blog entry, Tapper points to a statement from Obama quoted in USA Today in 2007: "I am not asking anyone to take a chance on me. I am asking you to take a chance on your own aspirations." Tapper then quotes Patrick, speaking to the 2006 Massachusetts Democratic convention, saying, "I am not asking anybody to take a chance on me. I am asking you to take a chance on your own aspirations."

"We are seeing a pattern here," Wolfson told reporters a short time ago. "And here is another example of where the words match exactly."

I still think Wolfson and the Clinton campaign are doing themselves no favours with this line of attack. No politician or comedian (the two professions being closely related) ever stops to credit his writers or other originators of a good line in mid-flow. And Patrick has said he is just fine with Obama's borrowings. It's a snark hunt in the classic sense, a hunt for something that doesn't exist. At most, it shows Obama as a good bit more of a human politician, rather than the Saint he's been painted as by some. But the very fact of this kind of dirty campaigning, joined with other factors pointing at Clinton as being the Grinch Who Tried To Steal The Nomination by unfair means, comprises a growing negative narrative which is far more long-term damaging.

And why the f***k is a rightwing shill-shelter like the NRO first on the net with this? Is the Clinton campaign deliberately talking to rightwing reporters to try to hammer Obama, helpfully handing the McCain campaign its ammunition direct from Wolfson's hand?