Jo and Moe -- 21 Years ago Dowd Crushed Biden's Presidential Bid Because of Plagerism

Joe and Mo

Twenty-one years ago, Joseph Biden’s presidential ambitions were cut short in part by two news stories by Maureen Dowd suggesting that Biden's famous rhetorical skills were not necessarily his own.

On September 12, 1987, Dowd wrote an article about Biden being excessively inspired by British Labor Party Leader Neil Kinnock:

The Neil Kinnock commercial did not lead to electoral success last May in Britain, but the 10-minute spot of the Labor Party leader's passionate speeches, against a cool soundtrack of Brahms, raised his approval rating by 19 points and became an instant classic.

On this side of the Atlantic, many Presidential campaign strategists of both parties greatly admired the way it portrayed Mr. Kinnock, who subsequently lost to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as a man of character. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, a Democratic hopeful, was particularly taken with it.

So taken, in fact, that he lifted Mr. Kinnock's closing speech with phrases, gestures and lyrical Welsh syntax intact for his own closing speech at a debate at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 23 - without crediting Mr. Kinnock...

MORE AT:
http://dowdreport.blogspot.com/2008/08/joe-and-mo.html

not well is the answer

Her articles are so empty I'm astounded she keeps her job.

I'm not surprised about the plagerism. Fire her.

There is no there there. Ever.

in any significant way.

The Biden story was a TELEVISION story--the film of Neil Kinnock, juxtaposed with the film of Joe Biden, is what did him in.

What MODO did was perhaps light the fire, provide the idea, and "pile on." With glee. But the FILM did the damage.

I remember that film clearly. It was a "Damn, what WERE you thinking?" moment. He even imitated the guy's inflections.

Here's one story on the subject from NBC. You can smell the toast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIaALKHVrAA

Ohhhhhh--I can hardly stand it--platitudes running around in my head--"those who live by the sword, die by the sword" and something about Shakespeare's "pen is mightier than the sword."


Cher

What goes around comes around, and Karma's a bitch.