The Hillary Clinton campaign accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of plagiarism in February for repeating lines uttered earlier by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. 

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But that was far from the only instance in which Obama — widely noted for his eloquence — “borrowed” from other speakers or writers.  While campaigning for the governor‘s post in 2006, Patrick sought to counter his Republican rival’s assertion that he lacked experience and substance, but could give a good speech, a charge some critics have leveled at Obama.

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Said Patrick: "'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? . . . 'I have a dream.' Just words?"

>Obama, in an interview with The New Republic published in March, said "words are pretty powerful. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal.' Those are just words? 'I have a dream.' Just words?”

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>One Obama statement that has become emblematic of his campaign is, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Original? Actually it’s the title of a book of essays by Alice Walker, “We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For” — which in turn came from a poem published in 1980 by feminist poet June Jordan.

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Ferguson, in a Weekly Standard Story titled “The Wit & Wisdom of Barack Obama,” points to other Obama utterances — and the sources they echo (Obama's "lines" are bolded in italics):

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>Americans “need a president who will tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear.” Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said in 1984: “Leadership is not just telling people what they want to hear, it’s telling them what they need to know.” And Arnold Schwarzenegger used almost the same language when he ran for governor of California in 2003.

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>“Politics is broken.” Bill Bradley said he was leaving the Senate in 1996 because “politics is broken.” George W. Bush used those same three words during a 2000 stump speech.

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>“This is a defining moment in our history.” Elizabeth Dole said the same thing when her husband ran for president in 1996.

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>“Washington has become a place where politicians spend too much time trying to score political points.” Bill Clinton said in 1992 that Washington was a place “people came just to score political points.”

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>“We’re going to take this country back.” Howard Dean in 2004: “We’re going to take this country back.”

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>“We can disagree without being disagreeable.” Gerald Ford used those words in his 1976 campaign against Jimmy Carter.

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>“We will choose unity over division.” Jesse Jackson said the same thing in 1992.

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>“We will choose hope over fear.” Bill Clinton and John Kerry both used that expression in 2004.

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>“We will choose the future over the past.” Al Gore, 1992.

Referring to Obama’s speechifying, Ferguson notes: “Obama has had the unbelievable luck to attract listeners who seem to think he’s minted it fresh.”

Yes, Obama is a pretty good speechifier, but his "lines" are as old and worn out as the rest of the Democrat party ideas he spouts.   Too bad he can't be bothered to give credit  to the original speakers.