You can't quote FDR! That's totally my idea!

Barack Obama's been getting all the good press lately, and ScarJo has made a YouTube video praising him, but I still kind of thought Hillary Clinton would get the nomination for President until today.

No significant votes or delegate-related matters happened today. However, the Clinton campaign must have in its possession some truly ugly numbers regarding their candidate's prospects. That's the only way I can explain their line latest line of Obama attack , among the most intensely lame and desperate political arguments imaginable.

We shouldn't vote for Obama because he's a plagiarist!



Wow..."You can't quote FDR! That's totally my idea!"

It's possible Obama saw Deval Patrick's speech and responded to similar allegations in the same way, but I'd hardly go so far as to call this plagiarism. This is once again Clinton trying to play Karl Rove. Obama's giving all these big powerful oratories and energizing a lot of younger voters and it's giving him big last-minute surges in a lot of primaries, so she's trying to turn her weakness (inability to out-inspire Obama) in a strength ("well, at least my speeches are original!")

I think even Karl Rove might feel like this argument's a little thin. You can besmirch the military service of John Kerry because it happened decades ago and very few people actually witnessed it in person. We have videotape of Deval Patrick and Barack Obama and can decide for ourselves whether or not one of them stole a speech from the other.

Also, Deval Patrick is alive and well and saying stuff like this:

"Senator Obama and I are long-time friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language. The argument in question, on the value of words in the public square, is one about which he and I have spoken frequently before. Given the recent attacks from Senator Clinton, I applaud him responding in just the way he did."

Oops.

So, the only thing I can conclude from the Clinton campaign's accusation of "plagiarism" is that they know a huge loss is imminent and are throwing up a Hail Mary, attacking their opponent any way they can and praying something will stick. Color me surprised.