As everyone knows by now, Governor Deval Patrick and Senator Barack Obama have been friends and political allies for fifteen years and both say they talk several times a week. David Axelrod helped coordinate Patrick's campaign and oversees Obama's and according to CNN, as early as a year ago, both Patrick and Obama said publicly that they sometimes use each other's lines. Since yesterday, in at least two interviews, Patrick has made abundantly clear that they sometimes swap adages and that he encouraged Obama to employ the phrases in question. Plagiarism, by definition, involves theft. As a writer, I take the charge extremely seriously. If I thought Obama stole another's words, I'd forfeit my position as county delegate. But it's like Patrick gave him the keys and said, "Here, borrow my car" and the Clinton campaign is crying, "Grand theft auto!" Logically and morally, it doesn't make sense.
Re what Michelle Obama said about feeling pride in her country for the first time in her adult life: I have complete respect for her and I like that she often speaks off the cuff and perhaps she misspoke, but any way you parse it, it was a ridiculous thing for a potential first lady to say to a room full of reporters. Please, Mrs. Obama, do not morph into Teresa Heinz-Kerry.
Litsa Dremousis' site! I'm the author of "Altitude Sickness", Future Tense Books, October, 2014. My essay "After the Fire" was lauded by Best American Essays as a "Notable Essay of 2011, and the Seattle Weekly named me one of "50 Women Who Rock Seattle". Please find my full bio, archived essays, fiction, interviews, features, audio, video and contact information. Plus, a wee bit of ribaldry. COMING SOON: LITSADREMOUSIS.COM.
About Me
- Litsa Dremousis:
- I'm the author of "Altitude Sickness", a wry and candid examination of the inanity of rock and ice climbing and the mainstream culture that venerates them. Future Tense Books, October 2014. My essay "After the Fire" was selected as one of the "Most Notable Essays of 2011" by Best American Essays 2012. I'm a Contributing Editor at the literary site The Weeklings. We partner with Salon and have received praise from The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, Slate, and others. My work appears in The Believer, BlackBook, Esquire, Jezebel, McSweeney's, Men's Health, Monkeybicycle, MSN, New York Magazine, Nerve, Nylon, The Onion's A.V. Club, Paste, Poets & Writers, Salon, Slate, The Weeklings, on NPR, KUOW, and additional venues. I've interviewed Sherman Alexie, The Black Keys, Betty Davis (the legendary, reclusive soul singer), Death Cab for Cutie, Estelle, Ron Jeremy, Janelle Monae, Alanis Morissette, Kelly Rowland, Wanda Sykes, Rufus Wainwright, Ann Wilson and several dozen others. The Seattle Weekly named me one of "50 Women Who Rock Seattle". CONTACT ME AT litsa.dremousis@gmail.com. Twitter @LitsaDremousis.

No comments:
Post a Comment