Did McCain Plagiarize His Speech on the Georgia Crisis?

Did McCain Plagiarize His Speech on the Georgia Crisis?

blogs.cqpolitics.com

A Wikipedia editor notices some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. They appear similar enough that most people would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia material can be freely used but always requires attribution under its terms of use. Whether a presidential candidate should base policy speeches on material from Wikipedia is another matter entirely.

(visit the link for the full news article)

one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)

vs.

one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia)

vs.

After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain)

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. (Wikipedia)

vs.

Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms. (McCain)

It looks like McCain's words, like his wife's cookies, are in fact someone else's entirely.

It amazes me that the man would be using Wiki at all for information in his speeches. I am only a landscape architecture graduate student and we do not use wiki for the fact that its information is not completely credible and often inaccurate. I get dirty looks and comments from professors if I dare use it in anything I submit. That a presidential candidate would be using it to find facts for his speeches is rather laughable IMHO. Not to mention the 'cut and past' mentality he seems to be using.




blogs.cqpolitics.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Great find, Animal...

I tend to stay out of the political forums due to the nature of politics (vicious) and because I think national politics are either bought and paid for by corporate interest or ochestrated by a shadow government.

This tends to lend credence to the latter.

Looks like a speech writer is going to get fired...

I would have expected a comment full of the ideology, wisdom, and experience of the neo-con spin machine. Instead we got Wikilinks. Sometimes I think they should just say "I don't know."

I thought McCain was computer illiterate?

So the likelyhood of McCain plagerizing is pretty slim.

You're kidding right?
So now stating the facts in the order in which they happened, in plagerism?

You Obamaniacs are really, really reaching.

Originally posted by Shazam The Unbowed
You're kidding right?
So now stating the facts in the order in which they happened, in plagerism?

You Obamaniacs are really, really reaching.

You think I'm one of those!!

Now THAT'S funny!

reply to post by Animal


So what if he did?

Have you ever wrote a political speech?.

I have done it, not only for myself but for politicians and diplomats, believe me, there is nothing new under the sun, if you want impact then you must borrow an idea or two.

It is not plagiarism it is politics, people always want to hear the same things.

come on kids. i am not talking about simply stating things as they happened or 'in order' if you read what i supplied from the story the quotes are almost EXACT copies from wiki. FYI in about any credible upper level education that will get you expelled. it is called plagiarism.

I'm just wondering when Bush will send the troops to Atlanta.

Anyways, McCain didn't copy Wikipedia. He's already admitted he has no idea how to use a computer or get on the internet. So his speech writer copied Wikipedia.

As much as McBush is an old warmonger Neocon Oil Man he did not copy his speech from Wikipedia, his speech writers did.

Originally posted by Animal
come on kids. i am not talking about simply stating things as they happened or 'in order' if you read what i supplied from the story the quotes are almost EXACT copies from wiki. FYI in about any credible upper level education that will get you expelled. it is called plagiarism.

Uhh even the quote you poted werent "exact links"
This is a really, really pathetic attempt.

[edit on 8/12/2008 by Shazam The Unbowed]

Just to add the latest on this story and different takes and reactions.

More Reactions to the McCain-Wikipedia Story

By Taegan Goddard | August 13, 2008 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's a round up of some of the more interesting reactions from our post on the McCain campaign's apparent use of Wikipedia:

Joe Conason: "The discovery that John McCain's remarks on Georgia were derived from Wikipedia, to put it politely, is disturbing and even depressing -- but not surprising. Under the tutelage of the neoconservatives, who revealed their superficial understanding of Iraq both before and after the invasion, he favors bellicose grandstanding over strategic thinking. So why delve deeper than a quick Google search?"

Newsweek's Andrew Romano: "I don't doubt that whomever wrote the historical passage consulted Wikipedia for a refresher course (something that the campaign wouldn't deny 'outright'). I mean, there are simply too many repeated phrases, conveniently rearranged to evade detection, to suggest anything but a schoolboy copy job."

Mark Kleiman: "Now you can't even pretend to believe it's a coincidence. If the original sentences in question came from different sources, you might give the student the benefit of the doubt, but two unattributed near-quotes from the same source? Plagiarism, beyond reasonable doubt."

Comedy Central: "That's kind of damning. But I think what really tips it off as being stolen from Wikipedia is that it's totally wrong. Everybody knows that Georgia is a state in the Southeastern United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution."

Washington Independent: "Given that Wikipedia's founder discourages college students from citing Wikipedia as a source for their inconsequential term papers, we should probably expect someone who wants to become the leader of the free world to at least adhere to the same standard in formulating his foreign policy."

Hot Air: "Three background sentences, that is, one of which closely tracks Wikipedia's entry on Georgia, two more of which contain some phrases in common, plus a third passage that's being offered as evidence of plagiarism and ... just isn't."

Matt Yglesias: "Given that McCain, by his own admission, can't use the internet it's a bit of an ironic situation though perhaps it counts as progress of some sort."

Digital Journal: "Is consulting Wikipedia, or Britannica or any other informative sites to obtain facts that writers use for articles, speeches, blog posts or any other type of communication, considered plagiarism if the information is used but reworded to match the writer's style? "

cqpolitics.com

Imo, this isn't such a big deal. Obama goes after him for this, it sets the bar really low and it might come back to bite him. two cents

[edit on 8/13/2008 by schrodingers dog]