Now, in order to qualify something as plagiarism, the definition seems to suggest you need two things:
A.You need to use someone else's idea.
B. And you have to pass (or attempt to pass) said idea off as your own (ie not cite it).
Let's think about this after the jump.
A. That one's easy. Yes: he is using someone else's idea. By his own admission.
B. Given this quote (dated for December of 07, mind you), I think we can safely say that he did, in fact, give credit where credit was due.
"But you know in the end, don’t vote your fears. I’m stealing this line from my buddy (Massachusetts Gov.) Deval Patrick who stole a whole bunch of lines from me when he ran for the governorship, but it’s the right one, don’t vote your fears, vote your aspirations. Vote what you believe."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
This example fails to meet one of the two necessary conditions (B) to be considered plagiarism. So, it's kinda hard to call it plagiarism.
Another Obama's-not-better-than-me Clinton meme factchecked and dismissed. Next?
A note to Senator Clinton for future attempts: GIven your own meta-narrative (which I grant was created in part by the mainstream media attacking you, perhaps unfairly) of inauthenticity, I would highly suggest not attempting to lob any such rocks at Obama. Those in inauthentic houses and all...
A second note: All politicians borrow parts of speeches from each other (One such example includes parts of your husband's inauguration speech being borrowed by a current candidate for president). However, when you borrow from another politician, don't do it with the material of a politician who you are currently running against: Fired Up and Yes We Will