Obama makes what’s billed as a “major speech” on the economy, when
it’s actually a ripoff of Clinton’s ideas to do it? At the very least I think we can call that cheating.
The Chicago
Sun-Times jumped on it:
White House hopeful Barack Obama’s economic platform set off a three-way
fight Wednesday as aides to Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton
accused Obama of stealing Clinton’s ideas.“He basically took Clinton’s words and Clinton’s policies and
called them his own,” Hassett said. “If I were a professor I’d give
him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible
… I remember Mrs. Clinton saying shared prosperity and I remember the bill
that she introduced in August for infrastructure. The fact is these are things
Obama has taken as his own without crediting the source of the ideas which
was Mrs. Clinton.”Clinton herself said, “A plan that fails to provide universal health
care, fails to address the housing crisis, and fails to immediately start
creating good paying jobs in America again will not turn the economy around
and provide the real relief that our people need. We need real results not
more rhetoric.”The New York senator’s campaign said she proposed a national infrastructure
bank in August and that Obama’s energy plan is a rehash of hers. … ..Obama
takes hit on economic policy
Campaign’s a ripoff of Clinton’s, her supporters, McCain adviser maintains
Obama doesn’t address the charge, of course, instead he changes the conversation. I would too if caught in the act of stealing my opponents ideas; plans that she put forth long before you ever opened your mouth on the specifics of the subject.
It’s never good when it’s two against one, with both Clinton and McCain’s economic
adviser calling Obama on what amounts to economic “plagiarism.” Obviously,
there’s a reason Mr. Obama sticks to speeches instead of offering details on policy. He needs a cheat sheet to do it. Got
integrity? Evidently not, at least not when it comes to offering details by himself.
Clinton’s team released details of the ideas she put forth months ago, which
Obama basically claimed as his own in Wisconsin:
Senator Obama’s only “new” ideas were ones that Senator
Clinton proposed months ago:* His “new” proposal for a national infrastructure bank is one
that Hillary proposed August 8, 2007. ["I'm proud to co-sponsor
Senator Dodd and Senator Hagel's National Infrastructure Bank Act that we
just introduced to establish a federally-backed independent bank that will
evaluate and finance large infrastructure projects by subsidies, loan guarantees,
and bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the United States."
Rebuilding America speech, 8/8/07;
S. 1926, 8/1/07]* His “new” proposal to create 5 million green collar jobs was
proposed by Hillary on November 5, 2007. ["And three, to move us from
a carbon-based economy to an efficient, green economy by unleashing a wave
of private-sector innovation in clean energy and energy efficiency. I believe
that will create at least five million good new jobs from clean energy over
the next decade." Energy and Climate speech, 11/5/07]o Google CEO Eric Schmidt praises Hillary’s plan to create 5 million
Green Collar jobs, 11/5/07: “By emphasizing the connection between
promoting a green efficient economy and job creation, Senator Clinton’s
plan seeks to harness the power of technology and innovation to address
one of our most pressing global challenges…The goal of producing 5
million new jobs can be achieved by private sector investment and bipartisan
support for increased research and development in efficiency and clean energy.”
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