Former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen has accused President Obama of plagiarizing parts of his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
“Barack Obama has gone from blaming George W. Bush to plagiarizing George W. Bush,” he said, adding that Tuesday night’s speech and Mr. Bush’s 2007 address were “eerily familiar.”
“There were lines like ’Our job is to help Americans build a future of hope and opportunity, a future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy, a future of hope and opportunity requires that all citizens have affordable and available healthcare, extending opportunity and hope depends on a stable supply of energy,’ all of that came from the 2007 State of the Union from George W. Bush,” Mr. Thiessen said.
Politico reported, however, that a “quick text compare shows that no lines were directly lifted from Bush’s 2007 speech in the one Obama gave on Tuesday.”
The report said there were only minor similarities, like frequent use of the word “opportunity.”
Mr. Thiessen confirmed to the newspaper that he is, indeed, accusing the president of plagiarism and even linked in an email to a column he wrote where he said Obama lifted much of a speech about Syria from Bush.
(Video at Mediaite.com)
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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