Joe Biden Plagiarism Scandal Surfaces
Joe Biden’s plagiarism scandal was apparently the reason for Barack Obama’s stealth announcement of his VP pick over the weekend. The hope was that the slow weekend news cycle leading up to the DNC convention would not allow for an early critical evaluation of Biden’s copycat problem, analysts now believe.
Joe Biden’s Plagiarizing Past
Veteran political analysts wondered why Obama would release the news on the slowest news day of the week, and sandwiched right before the DNC convention. Revealing Joe Biden’s name in this manner assured the least amount of news coverage possible on his choice. Why?
It was a very long time ago when Biden first ran for President in the 1987/1988 presidential race. He was forced to exit the race in shame when disturbing plagiarism charges were proven against him amid charges of lying.
What launched the public inquiry into Joe Biden’s words was a debate in September 1987 in which Biden stole the words of Neil Kinnock who was head of the British Labour Party.
Neil Kinnock had said earlier: “Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?” He then pointed to his wife in the audience and said “Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because all our predecessors were thick?”
Joe Biden said during debate: “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?” He pointed to his wife in the audience and said “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? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I’m the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?”
A little theft happens from time to time in politics as in life. Critics concluded it would have been better if Biden had not lied by saying he was just “thinking” as he was coming over there. The lines were obviously rehearsed as he had heard them before. The press and Dukakis campaign got on the plagiarism story and discovered that Joe Biden has a history as a plagiarizer and liar.
At Syracuse Law School, it was discovered that Joe Biden got an F-grade in a class for boldly copying enormous chunks of someone else’s law review article.
Biden attempted to excuse the plagiarism by claiming it was a “mistake of youth.” He went before the school Deans and pleaded that they not expel him completely. He was allowed to retake the course and the cheating grade was later expunged from his record.
In response to the shocking revelation, Biden released all of his school transcripts including written evaluation by his teachers. The Syracuse transcripts revealed a candidate who had generally poor grades and only mixed reviews from his professors.
Apparently Biden has a history of supplementing his perceived failings by borrowing from others or simply exaggerating or lying. The final straw in his first presidential race was when he lied about the number of degrees he had received, the reason for his scholarship, and his graduating rank in class. Joe Biden was near the bottom of his class despite having that F-grade removed for plagiarism.
The voters will decide for themselves if Joe Biden is worthy of the VP office. The 1987/88 election run was a long time ago, while perhaps only the pundits remember Joe Biden’s shame.
And if the public can forgive Biden, they will have to decide if they want two copycats in the White House given a similar problem by Obama that was largely ignored by the press.
Joe Biden’s plagiarism scandal was apparently the reason for Barack Obama’s stealth announcement of his VP pick over the weekend. The hope was that the slow weekend news cycle leading up to the DNC convention would not allow for an early critical evaluation of Biden’s copycat problem, analysts now believe.
Joe Biden’s Plagiarizing Past
Veteran political analysts wondered why Obama would release the news on the slowest news day of the week, and sandwiched right before the DNC convention. Revealing Joe Biden’s name in this manner assured the least amount of news coverage possible on his choice. Why?
It was a very long time ago when Biden first ran for President in the 1987/1988 presidential race. He was forced to exit the race in shame when disturbing plagiarism charges were proven against him amid charges of lying.
What launched the public inquiry into Joe Biden’s words was a debate in September 1987 in which Biden stole the words of Neil Kinnock who was head of the British Labour Party.
Neil Kinnock had said earlier: “Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?” He then pointed to his wife in the audience and said “Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because all our predecessors were thick?”
Joe Biden said during debate: “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?” He pointed to his wife in the audience and said “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? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I’m the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?”
A little theft happens from time to time in politics as in life. Critics concluded it would have been better if Biden had not lied by saying he was just “thinking” as he was coming over there. The lines were obviously rehearsed as he had heard them before. The press and Dukakis campaign got on the plagiarism story and discovered that Joe Biden has a history as a plagiarizer and liar.
At Syracuse Law School, it was discovered that Joe Biden got an F-grade in a class for boldly copying enormous chunks of someone else’s law review article.
Biden attempted to excuse the plagiarism by claiming it was a “mistake of youth.” He went before the school Deans and pleaded that they not expel him completely. He was allowed to retake the course and the cheating grade was later expunged from his record.
In response to the shocking revelation, Biden released all of his school transcripts including written evaluation by his teachers. The Syracuse transcripts revealed a candidate who had generally poor grades and only mixed reviews from his professors.
Apparently Biden has a history of supplementing his perceived failings by borrowing from others or simply exaggerating or lying. The final straw in his first presidential race was when he lied about the number of degrees he had received, the reason for his scholarship, and his graduating rank in class. Joe Biden was near the bottom of his class despite having that F-grade removed for plagiarism.
The voters will decide for themselves if Joe Biden is worthy of the VP office. The 1987/88 election run was a long time ago, while perhaps only the pundits remember Joe Biden’s shame.
And if the public can forgive Biden, they will have to decide if they want two copycats in the White House given a similar problem by Obama that was largely ignored by the press.
