Just Words

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12:08 PM, Feb 18, 2008 • By MICHAEL GOLDFARB

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Jonathan V. Last reports from Wisconsin:

[T]he Founders Day event also featured a new addition meant to counter the Clinton charge that it takes more than just words to be president.

As rebuttal, Obama thundered, "'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words. 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words."

It's a powerful passage and Obama's delivery is pitch-perfect. But it doesn't withstand even the most gentle scrutiny. The famous phrases Obama is cleverly aligning himself with were, of course, more than "just words." They were words connected with actions, ideals, and concrete goals; with soldiers and war and sacrifice and death.

Today the New York Times reports that those words were "adapted" from a speech given in 2006 by Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. The two are friends, and David Axelrod, now Obama's chief strategist, advised Patrick as well. But the Clinton camp is accusing Obama of plagiarism, which seems like a bit of a stretch. After all, it's just words. More remarkable is the fact that, watching the video, it's clear Deval Patrick delivered the lines better.