So it seems that today's top election news is that a recent Barack Obama speech lifted lines from a 2006 speech by Massachusetts Governor Devall Patrick. Judge for yourself:
Obama:
Don't tell me words don't matter. "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? Just speeches?
Patrick:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" -- just words? Just words? "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" -- just words? "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Just words? "I have a dream" -- just words?
Truly the most shocking thing any Presidential candidate has done in the past week. (Well, if you don't count, say, McCain deciding he's pretty okay with the whole torture thing after all. Did I mention how proud I am to have voted for him in '04?)
But my friends, I have unearthed something strikingly similar that predates both quotes. Again, judge for yourself:
Just a statue? Is the Statue of Liberty just a statue? Is the Leaning Tower of Pizza just a statue?
That was Homer Simpson in The Telltale Head, which first aired February 25, 1990, significantly predating both speeches.
So there you have it -- both men plagiarized their speeches, from an 18-year-old episode of The Simpsons.
Stunning, I know. I expect a book deal out of this. We may even be talking Pulitzer material.