Amateur Hour at the Clinton campaign: claim that Obama "plagiarized" a speech is so lame it makes Hillary look weak and desperate

The Clinton campaign has accused Barack Obama of plagiarism in a speech Obama gave in Milwaukee over the weekend, saying parts of speech were borrowed from a speech by Massachussets governor Deval Patrick. For his part, Obama has acknowledged he should have given more credit to Deval Patrick but said he and Patrick share alot of ideas.

Here is a summary of the plagiarism via the NYT:

“Don’t tell me words don’t matter,” Mr. Obama said, to applause. “ ‘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?”

Mr. Patrick employed similar language during his 2006 governor’s race when his Republican rival, Kerry Healey, criticized him as offering lofty rhetoric over specifics. Mr. Patrick has endorsed Mr. Obama, and the two men are close friends.

“ ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’ — just words? Just words?” Mr. Patrick said one month before his election. “ ‘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?”

Is that all? This looks like borrowed phrasing but that is not plagiarism. Ed Morrissey agrees: "it's not plagiarism." He also points out the supposed victim, Deval Patrick, has put out a statement bashing the Clinton campaign.Could the folks in charge of the Clinton campaign really be this lame?