In the opening of his State of the State speech, Gov. Gray Davis used the same ideas and many of the same words that President Clinton used in his first State of the Union address — a similarity so striking that it prompted charges Thursday of plagiarism.
In his speech, seen by many as the most important of his career, Davis on Wednesday echoed themes Clinton had outlined 10 years earlier: In both cases, the politicians said the ailing economy demanded their full attention and that only a united effort could rescue the economy from its doldrums.
Davis even repeated one sentence verbatim. Referring to the economies of the United States in 1993 and California in 2003, both said, “But these are not ordinary times.”
Steve Maviglio, Davis’ spokesman, declined to comment. The governor’s speech writer, Jason Kinney, dismissed the parallels as an “accidental homage.”
Hey- cut him some slack. What is a little perjury plagiarism amongst friends?
*** UPDATE ***
Joe Arrieta, who is no right winger, SAVAGES Davis in a post in the must-read Political State Report. Who exactly voted for this guy?
Joe states emphatically:
What I wouldn