Gov. Deval Patrick

The Internet is abuzz this week with claims (and video evidence!) that presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama has been "borrowing" some of his campaign speeches from our own Gov. Deval Patrick.

During a speech in Milwaukee on Saturday, Obama responded to criticism leveled by fellow Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton that his bid for the White House is based on little more than vague promises of hope by quoting some of the most poignant of the historical phrases.

Using the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Obama defended his position, saying that "just words" are the key to making politics more engaging to the American public.

Problem is, the speech wasn't quite Obama's. While campaigning for governor in 2006, Patrick responded with a very similar message after Republican opponent Kerry Healey accused him of resting on rhetoric.

The accusations of plagiarism (probably originating from the Clinton campaign) come following a January report by The Associated Press that Obama had borrowed Patrick's words and ideas, many times without attribution. According to The AP, in a news conference, Obama said he and Patrick, who are friends, often borrow language from each other. The Boston Globe apparently reported similar incidences last year.

In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, Patrick said he gave Obama permission to use his words and called the charges against his old friend as "elaborate and extravagant." Believing the claim originated from Clinton, Patrick said the similarities in the speeches should not distract voters from the real message in the Illinois senator's words.

Still, on Tuesday, another video surfaced showing a side-by-side comparison of the two politicians, using the same phrasing.

So if rhetoric is what's piling up the Democratic delegates for Obama, should the primary victories really be Patrick's? Or, based on both men's "just words" speeches, are the winners really Jefferson, Roosevelt, Kennedy and King?

Maybe it's time for our contemporary politicians to come up with their own words. We leave it to our readers to decide.

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