posted by
connielane at 06:59am on 29/08/2008 under politics
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Melissa pointed this out elsewhere, and I thought I'd give a little more detail. Yes, Democratic nominee Obama (boy, it's nice to finally be able to say that) gave a fine speech, inspiring, and reminiscent of something written by Aaron Sorkin. Obama has indeed met Sorkin, and (according to Sorkin here) said something along the lines of "my intention is to steal a lot of your lines." But MSNBC was a bit less than accurate in reporting that two of Obama's lines from last night were direct quotes from Sorkin's screenplay for The American President. Here are the two lines, followed by what fictional president Andrew Shepherd actually said in the film.
OBAMA: "It's not because McCain doesn't care; it's because McCain doesn't get it."
SHEPHERD: "I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it; Bob's problem is that he can't sell it."
Similar construction, yes, but hardly borrowing.
OBAMA: "That's a debate I'm ready to have."
SHEPHERD: "If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up."
Similar sentiment, but nowhere near the same thing.
I enjoyed MSNBC's coverage of all of this, and it's understandable that immediately after the speech they'd have other things on their mind than accuracy of movie quotes. But surely someone could have pulled up the YouTube video. Shepherd's speech is like the first result when you type "american president" into the search box. Or maybe just say it sounded like something from Sorkin. Because it did.
Sorry for the canon-thumping, but old habits die hard. :P
OBAMA: "It's not because McCain doesn't care; it's because McCain doesn't get it."
SHEPHERD: "I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it; Bob's problem is that he can't sell it."
Similar construction, yes, but hardly borrowing.
OBAMA: "That's a debate I'm ready to have."
SHEPHERD: "If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up."
Similar sentiment, but nowhere near the same thing.
I enjoyed MSNBC's coverage of all of this, and it's understandable that immediately after the speech they'd have other things on their mind than accuracy of movie quotes. But surely someone could have pulled up the YouTube video. Shepherd's speech is like the first result when you type "american president" into the search box. Or maybe just say it sounded like something from Sorkin. Because it did.
Sorry for the canon-thumping, but old habits die hard. :P