Cover Up? Plagiarize A Cartoon And You Become A Cartoon

I am wondering if we are watching the greatest political meltdown in American history. I am also wondering if the "Lipstick Defense" is a cover-up.

James Taranto simply passes over something I find absolutely incredible, especially since accusations of plagiarism have been hurled at both Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the past.

Please, read (right now) the monologue bubble to Tom Toles' September 5 cartoon in the Washington Post. And then read what Barack Obama said FOUR DAYS later (as printed in the LA Times):
 

"John McCain says he's about change too...So I guess his whole angle is: Watch out, George Bush -- except for economic policy, healthcare policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington.

"That's not change. That's just calling the same thing something different. But you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, and it's still going to stink after eight years." [emphasis mine]

Pretty amazing, huh? How did this go unnoticed? Why did this go unnoticed? Did Sen. Obama preface or end his remarks with due attribution to Tom Toles? I believe he did not.

Seriously, I have never seen such a swift and immediate meltdown. I did not think the lipstick remark would be all that devastating to Barack Obama. Alas, it seems it highlighted a part of his speech that Sen. Obama would have liked to conceal. How ironic that he would have used lipstick to highlight his apparent plagiarism!

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