What will happen at the Republican Convention?

[dudalb]

As much as I can't stand Trump, Melania's plagiarism is at best a funny story. Her speech was never going to be a reason to vote for or against the Donald.

If you make it more than that, you're too lost in the forest to see the trees.

I sort of agree, but it certainly says a lot about the competence of the Trump Campaign.

 

[pgwenthold]

As much as I can't stand Trump, Melania's plagiarism is at best a funny story. Her speech was never going to be a reason to vote for or against the Donald.

If you make it more than that, you're too lost in the forest to see the trees.

I agree. I noted, I am more bothered by her claim of a college degree.

Not that she, herself, matters, but just as an indication of how they live in an alternate reality.

Forget the speech, can she show that she graduated from college like she claims? How can you defend that? She "forgot" that she didn't graduate from college? Now, that could only be deliberate.

 

[wareyin]

I agree. I noted, I am more bothered by her claim of a college degree.

Not that she, herself, matters, but just as an indication of how they live in an alternate reality.

Forget the speech, can she show that she graduated from college like she claims? How can you defend that? She "forgot" that she didn't graduate from college? Now, that could only be deliberate.

Maybe she was the first, and only, graduate of the Trump University in Slovenia, which has now conveniently tragically closed and lost all records?

 

[lobosrul]

Wow, Sean Spicer is a brony.

There are some problems with this latest excuse:

1). Michelle Obama gave her speech in 2008. The latest My Little Pony series debuted in 2010.

2). It is being reported that part of the speechwriting process for the Trump convention is to go through stacks of old convention speeches.

3). Twilight Sparkle has never given a speech at a political convention.

4). Michelle Obama has given speeches at national political conventions.

5). Melania Trump stole from Michelle Obama.

6). It is unclear if Twilight Sparkle is also a plagiarist.

Since I'm not a plagiarist, source: http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07...e-plagiarized-speech-pony-michelle-obama.html

 

[lobosrul]

I agree. I noted, I am more bothered by her claim of a college degree.

Not that she, herself, matters, but just as an indication of how they live in an alternate reality.

Forget the speech, can she show that she graduated from college like she claims? How can you defend that? She "forgot" that she didn't graduate from college? Now, that could only be deliberate.

I demand to see her notarized long-form official transcript!

 

[Stacko]

Melania might have just been afraid of falsely attributing material to someone. Donald wants people jailed for that because it's fraud.

 

[pgwenthold]

I demand to see her notarized long-form official transcript!

In jest, I know, but note that in the US, the information of whether you graduated from a university is not FERPA protected, and can be released without needing any permission.

When an employer calls the University and asks, the university can say that the student attended and that they graduated.

 

[Tony Stark]

According to the site turnitin.com which checks papers for plagiarism there is less than a one in a trillion chance that it is a coincidence that part of Melania's speech was so similar to Michelle's.

 

[NoahFence]

I think a lot of Republicans would agree with you.

Not nearly enough it would seem.

 

[acbytesla]

I sort of agree, but it certainly says a lot about the competence of the Trump Campaign.

You're a 100 percent right and that distinction is totally lost on the average voter.

 

[fuelair]

Just watching CNN; first time I've seen a high-ranking Republican official quote Kid Rock as an example of parallel thought in speechwriting.

Desperation makes for Desperate measures!!!!

 

[Faydra]

Amusing as it is in an easy-punchline kind of way, the plagiarism in Melania Trump’s speech really amounts to very little.

It’s the kind of thing that happens when a newly political wife not trained in this fresh life purpose and by all accounts not comfortable with having to give a speech cedes all responsibility for writing it to lower-level functionaries.

It’s a “cute” and ultimately harmless scandal, by itself, the sort of thing we laughed at when Ronald Reagan said something doddering or when Dubya said something mildly stupid, and still laugh at when Joe Biden drops a gaffe.

Where it becomes harmful is where it distracts from whatever heinous thing the organization is doing. Reagan’s handlers loved, just loved, that Interior Secretary James Watt had been so casually offensive about the “element” that came to see the Beach Boys, and Dubya’s people loved that their President flattened himself trying to push open a locked door, because in both cases those miniscule embarrassments ate up a whole news cycle and distracted us from stories that would have exposed worse; and I guarantee you, Trump’s people are secretly happy that Melania’s speechwriters put in the position of a plagiarist, because we’re talking about that and not about Steve King’s casual white-supremacy, the shutdown of the convention’s online message board because of the raging anti-semitism of its users, the outright fabrication of charges about Hillary Clinton, the angry exit of two state delegations, Rudy Giuliani’s lunacy, the appalled testimony from Trump’s main biographer, and any number of other horrifying moments that establish for anyone not hung up on irrelevancies just who these people are and what kind of danger they represent.

I guarantee you: if the worst you could say about these people yesterday is that some speechwriter screwed up, I’d be voting for him myself.

But this is what we’re paying attention to.

The Melania story rebounds to his advantage.


**I didn't write this, someone name Adam Troy Castro did**

 

[Mumbles]

As much as I can't stand Trump, Melania's plagiarism is at best a funny story. Her speech was never going to be a reason to vote for or against the Donald.

If you make it more than that, you're too lost in the forest to see the trees.

no, not quite. It's not just the plagiarism, it's also the total obviousness of it (how would Melania even know the phrase "your word is your bond"?) and the fact that they stole it directly from someone republicans have been wildly raging against for a decade (anger over kids getting exercise? The freaking Whitey tapes? Remember that idiotic rumor?)

And really, any reasonable person has seen this cycle's GOP as a complete, and dangerous, disaster anyway. It's not even worth debating at this point. It was clear from the start that Trump was a narrow-minded, dim-witted bigoted narcissist, and that's the forest. Anyone who doesn't get it by now is either paying no attention, or simply doesn't want to get it.

So no, I'm going to have some fun after all of the ugliness that the GOP has given us over the past decade.

 

[fuelair]

According to the site turnitin.com which checks papers for plagiarism there is less than a one in a trillion chance that it is a coincidence that part of Melania's speech was so similar to Michelle's.

I loves me some good statistics!!!!! And some rumpfled Drumpf!!!!!

 

[Jrrarglblarg]

I'm honestly surprised to see the trump team lose control of message momentum on the first day. The preshow vote to not vote blew over quickly and the Democrats don't seem to be trying upstage him yet. I didn't expect them to open festivities with self inflicted wounds

 

[acbytesla]

no, not quite. It's not just the plagiarism, it's also the total obviousness of it (how would Melania even know the phrase "your word is your bond"?) and the fact that they stole it directly from someone republicans have been wildly raging against for a decade (anger over kids getting exercise? The freaking Whitey tapes? Remember that idiotic rumor?)

And really, any reasonable person has seen this cycle's GOP as a complete, and dangerous, disaster anyway. It's not even worth debating at this point. It was clear from the start that Trump was a narrow-minded, dim-witted bigoted narcissist, and that's the forest. Anyone who doesn't get it by now is either paying no attention, or simply doesn't want to get it.

So no, I'm going to have some fun after all of the ugliness that the GOP has given us over the past decade.

I don't disagree at all. I'm just pointing out that this is minutia and not even about Trump. It's what his trophy said. Yawn. Your mind is made up and so is mine and so are many of his supporters. This is just another tick against him for you, but totally irrelevant to his supporters and I'm guessing to anyone yet to make up their minds.

The relevant question to me is it something you'd even bring up to an undecided voter to persuade them to vote against Trump?

I wouldn't.

 

[lobosrul]

I don't disagree at all. I'm just pointing out that this is minutia and not even about Trump. It's what his trophy said. Yawn. Your mind is made up and so is mine and so are many of his supporters. This is just another tick against him for you, but totally irrelevant to his supporters and I'm guessing to anyone yet to make up their minds.

The relevant question to me is it something you'd even bring up to an undecided voter to persuade them to vote against Trump?

I wouldn't.

I would like to think that this weighs on undecided voters. The potential first lady of the USA couldn't think of any nice things to say about her own husband so she had to copy from Michelle Obama!? Either that or she didn't actually write (err copy) it herself, they employed a speechwriter. The latter makes Trump a liar. And to top it off the RNC strategist's excuse is that its from My Little Pony?!? You can't make this **** up! OK, maybe you could but no one would believe you.

 

[acbytesla]

I would like to think that this weighs on undecided voters. The potential first lady of the USA couldn't think of any nice things to say about her own husband so she had to copy from Michelle Obama!? Either that or she didn't actually write (err copy) it herself, they employed a speechwriter. The latter makes Trump a liar. And to top it off the RNC strategist's excuse is that its from My Little Pony?!? You can't make this **** up! OK, maybe you could but no one would believe you.

I'd like to think that it doesn't.

I'd much rather his racist remarks, his jumping back and forth on the issues like a Mexican jumping bean, his insulting arrogant manner and narcissistic behavior be of prime concern than a speech his wife made.

But hey, that's just me.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Now it's "Obama did it too". He repeated famous quotes in a speech, that's the accusation of plagiarism.

So if Obama said, "I have a dream" it's plagiarism if he fails to point out it's from MLK.

 

[Tony Stark]

What if Donald's speech is lifted from Obama? That would be about the greatest thing ever.