Embarrassed Merkel admits plagiarising Reagan (Germany)

[bemildred]

What could be more embarrassing that plagiarising Raygun?

Angela Merkel's bid to become Germany's first woman leader was dealt an embarrassing blow yesterday after her party was forced to admit that she virtually copied a speech given by the late Ronald Reagan during her recent TV duel with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.

A spokesman for Germany's opposition conservatives conceded that Mrs Merkel was " certainly inspired" by Mr Reagan's words, spoken during his 1980 election campaign, when she delivered her closing address to more than 21 million viewers during last Sunday night's televised election debate.

Excerpts from the two speeches were published on Germany's Spiegel-Online website yesterday. They showed that both put almost exactly the same rhetorical questions to voters - albeit 25 years apart.

In 1980 Mr Reagan asked Americans facing a choice between himself and President Jimmy Carter: "Are you doing better than you were four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment than there was four years ago? If you answer yes to all these questions, I think it is obvious who you will vote for."

Independent UK

[rooboy]

1. She's lucky the speech didn't say "tear down this wall"... n/t

[Judi Lynn]

2. Great article! Who can't use a large laugh?

From the Independent article:

Chancellor Schröder's ruling Social Democrats gleefully seized on the issue yesterday: "Merkel's cheap plagiarism suits her content," said an SPD spokesman, "She is just like the die-hard conservative Reagan and is cheating the electorate," he added.

Mrs Merkel did not comment yesterday. Despite some similarities in her policy proposals, she has studiously avoided being compared with the American right, fully aware that Mr Reagan and his Republican successors, with the exception of George Bush Snr, have been extremely unpopular figures in Germany.
(snip/...)

[bemildred]

3. Yeah, I liked it. What's not to like?

:-)

[Dirk39]

4. Hello from Germany,

I don't call her Angela Merkel ever again: her REAL name is KATRINA Merkel.
She will become Germany's next Chancellor. During the preparation of the illegal criminal INVASION of Iraq, she did travel to Bush - while Schröder was our Chancellor - to fall on her knees and explain, that Germany would like to do everything Bush and his criminal gang is asking for. The leader of her coalition party, the liberal party FDP, did explain again and again that the first thing, they would do - someone from their party will become Germany's Foreign Minister - everything to repair (???) the relations between Germany and "the" (BFEE) USA.

The situation in Germany now is somehow comparable to the situation in the USA before BushII. We had a right-wing neoliberal Blairist/Clintonlike (social-)Democratic Government, who has destroyed the welfare system in a way, even Reagan/Kohl didn't dare to do. And many leftists, liberals and democrats like me will not vote for the (social-)Democrats again, even if the Neocons might win.
The difference might be: In Germany, like in many other european democracies, small parties if they get more than 5% of the votes have a much greater impact on politics than in the USA.

There's a new left party in Germany and we have the chance to get more than 7% of the votes.
For me, to support them is the last chance to prevent Germany from becoming a one party system with two right wings like the USA has become.
If Schröder or the Greens or KATRINA Merkel's party would win without an opposition, I know what I would have to expect if something like Katrina is happening in Germany.

Dirk

[bemildred]

6. Thanks for the words Dirk, and good luck with your election.

She made me think of Margaret Thatcher, but I don't know
how good that comparison is.

[Dirk39]

8. I like that comparison

while being a student in East-Germany, she was responsible for agitation and propaganda in the youth-organisation FDR of the communist party in East-Germany, while studying at the university of Dresden. Her father is a protestant-puritan priest. A perfect combination: take the part of Germany, where the sixties never did happen, combine it with stalinism and protestantism and you get: Katrina, sorry: Angela Merkel. A nightmare.

Not that I would blame her for what she did, when she was in her twenties, but our left party is under attack for the people, who where Leftists in East-Germany before Germany was reunited and who remained Leftists after Germany was reunited.
You needed a lot of civil courage to remain a leftist after Germany was reunited and many of our supporters - not all - but many of them did fight against Stalinism in the former communist part of Germany as leftists and communists - but not so the Iron Katrina-Lady.

She is the kind of person, who is always with those in power, no matter what, no matter who.

I'm really somehow afraid of what will happen, when T.I.N.A. Merkel will become our chancellor, esp. when it come to foreign policy, but even Schröder was just an opportunist, when he rejected the occupation of Iraq. He did so in order to win the election.

And I'm one of those, who will never ever vote for the lesser evil and no party will ever get my vote, whose worsening the situation of the have-nots and the poor. Never.

I don't live in the USA and I'm not the one to judge, but to me it seems that it was Clinon, who made Bush II possible.

With his stab in the back of what was left of the welfare system and Roosevelt's New Deal, he deprived the left and the liberals of every possible defense against the neoliberals attacks.

I just hope the USA will wake up now after Katrina.

Dirk

[bemildred]

9. The US political system has been very corrupt, and closed, for a long time

since shortly after the US' Civil War. That's why there have
been only the same two parties (plus lots of powerless minor ones).
It's a collusive political control mechanism, a good cop vs bad cop
charade.

Clinton was strictly an inside the system politician, although far
from the worst, but untimately loyal to the power elites, not to
the people. That is, he was a "good cop" politician, but as always,
somehow, just not able to get much done. Jimmy Carter was another,
a more honest man than Clinton too. Most of the rest in my lifetime
have been "bad cop" stooges plain and simple.

I think change will come here when things get ugly enough. It is the
wealth of this nation that has allowed this situation to persist for
so long, and the duplicitous nature of the political system. I don't
think it's ugly enough yet, but maybe in three years, or five. It
would be better if change came from within the system, we have a good
Constitution, but I fear that may not be realistic.

[1932]

16. If it weren't for the crap Bush has pulled on Europe and the world,

Germany and the EU would be an incredible engine of economic development today. I'm sure that Bush expected it to be in much worse shape than it is today.

It's amazing that people who consider themselves progressive would target for punishment the same politicians that the US RW is targeting for punishment.

I just finished reading Graham Greene's book about Omar Torrijos of Panama (who was possibly assassinated in a move to gain back control the canal after Carter signed a treaty with him which transferred control to Panama).

Greene writes about how the far left said things very similar to what you say above because they were upset that Torrijos didn't do more, even though the truth was that Torrijos was doingn everything he could to help the people of Panama, which was difficult when the US and the media was doing everything it could to undermine Panama.

[JaneQPublic]

5. In her next speech, she was going to crib from Pauly Shore. (nt)

[1932]

17. "I'm the WEASEL...chh..chh..chh...chhh"

[IndianaGreen]

7. Is Joe Biden her campaign manager?

Joe Biden is a prowar puke, but back when he was running for President in 1987 he became better known as a plagiarizer. Biden did pretty much the same thing that Angela Merkel did. Here is a BBC account of Biden's finest hour!

The resulting fuss quickly died down. But sometimes the ugly clash of plagiarism and politics can have a devastating impact for those involved, as US senator Joe Biden will attest.

The congressman is one of those being tipped for the Democrat ticket to run against George Bush in the 2004 presidential election. But the last time Mr Biden showed such ambition, in 1987, he was publicly humiliated after it was alleged he had pilfered parts of a speech from the then British opposition leader, Neil Kinnock.

A Biden speech had gone: "I started thinking as I was coming over here, why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college?"

All of which sounds eerily similar to Neil Kinnock's very public musing: "Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2736575.stm

[AlamoDemoc]

10. Somehow, someway German and US politics are entwined

once again German politician has muddied American politics. This time highlighting Joe Biden's favorite past time politics...plagiarism

[saigon68]

12. Joe Biden DINO pro war Repuke lite politician

He is disgusting, well put

[ShockediSay]

11. All pols say the same crap over and over again. What's the big deal?

It's almost impossible NOT to use some other pols talking points. Especially when they're meaningless.

[not fooled]

13. Um, of course that should be...

...plagerized from Reagan's SPEECHWRITERS since that addled, vacuous old hack never did anything but read from scripts.

(Well, at least the next mediocre B-list actor from CA is going down in flames instead of being propped up as a viable prez candidate. )
Go, Ahnuld...right down the toilet!!!:hurts:

[necso]

14. Merkel is a (Reaganesque) joke.

(Maybe Stalinesque is a more accurate descriptor.)

At least Schroeder has been an important voice against mindless neocon military adventurism -- even if he did this strictly for reasons of his own political survival and success.

But regardless of Schroeder's motivations, this isn't something that can be expected (in actual practice) from Merkel and her fellow apparatniks. And getting tangled up in the insanities of neocon military adventurism is the last thing that the German people need. (This would also serve to strengthen the hand of neocon military adventurism at a time when it is losing momentum. -- And it will haunt Germany (and the world) for many years to come if they do so.)

And, I am sorry to say, better a neoliberal than a neocon -- neoliberal foreign policy is generally more sane (Blair is just a poodle) -- if of a generally consistent pro-corporatist nature.

My heart, of course, is with the New Left (and yeah, I know). But everywhere the New Left (the re-invigorated, re-focused, resurgent left) is just building new strength. And before it can (meaningfully) build (and maintain) international strength, first it must build national strength. (And nationalist strength -- there is nothing wrong with taking care of your own people first -- indeed, this is to be expected. Besides, a premature internationalist element leaves the left open to charges of serving something other than national interests -- and this will (again) prove fatal in the face of the forces of internationalist (and faux-nationalist) corporatism -- and its media flunkies... Timing is everything.)

[tanyev]

15. Darn internet.

Before you know it,all these vacuous power-hungry politicians will be forced to write their own, or pay somebody to write, original material. It's not fair!!!!!! :cry: