Did Obama Plagiarize Patrick?

Did Barack Obama lift material from his close friend, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick? Depends on what your definition of plagiarize is. Patrick says it's not plagiarism because he and Obama share ideas all the time.

The Clinton campaign claims he did.

Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson told Politico, "When an author plagiarizes from another author there is damage done to two different parties. One is to the person he plagiarized from. The other is to the reader."

A video circulating on the web shows Patrick speaking at a campaign rally in 2006, followed by a clip of Obama speaking Saturday night in Wisconsin.Patrick said:

But her dismissive point, and I hear it a lot from her staff, is that all I have to offer is words - just words. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, [applause and cheers] that all men are created equal." [Sustained applause and cheers.] Just words – just words! "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Just words! "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Just words! "I have a dream." Just words!

Obama said:

Don't tell me words don't matter! "I have a dream." Just words. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Just words! "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Just words - just speeches!

Patrick issued a statement defending Obama:

Senator Obama and I are longtime friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language. The argument in question, on the value of words in the public square, is one about which he and I have spoken frequently before. Given the recent attacks from Sen. Clinton, I applaud him [for] responding in just the way he did.

Obama's campaign shot back with a release showing "a couple of places Clinton freely borrowed rhetoric from Obama..."

Obama's campaign also pointed to this video of Hillary Clinton using Obama's phrase "Fired up and ready to go".