Group 1: Article from: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2008/08/26/the-biden-plagiarism-scandal/
Biden’s trouble with the plagiarism began a stump speech in Iowa. At the end of the speech, Biden used a series
of phrases that closely mirrored a previous speech by that of British politician Neal Kinnock. Though there are
several reports that he had previously used and cited the source of those words, there seems to be a clear
understanding that, in this one case, he did not.
The result of this was that his Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis created an attack video splicing together
Biden’s speech with that of Kinnocks. Not only was Biden’s reputation hurt by the initial scandal, reporters
from Newsweek also turned up allegations of plagiarism dating back to when he was a student at Syracuse Law
School, where he failed and was forced to retake a course due to an allegation of plagiarism.
The end result was that Biden, who was already lagging in the polls, was forced to drop out of the race. Though
Biden continued to serve in the Senate, these allegations have stuck with him for pretty much his entire career
since then.
Back in 1987, Biden said that he had routinely credited Kinnock for the speech and simply had forgotten to do
so during the stump speech from which the tape was made.
Regarding the law school controversy, Biden and his supporters have pointed out that the incident was stricken
from his record. Furthermore, as Biden’s supporters are quick to note, all of the allegations are either 20 or 40
years old.
After multiple searches, I was only able to find one pair of comparison quotes.
First is Kinnock:
Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because our
predecessors were thick? Was it because they were weak, those people who worked eight hours underground
and then come up and play football, weak? It was because there was no platform upon which they could stand.
Now Biden:
Why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family to ever go to a university? Was it because our fathers and
mothers were not bright? Is it because they didn’t work hard, my ancestors who worked in the coal mines of
northeast Pennsylvania and would come up after 12 hours and play football for four hours? It’s because they
didn’t have a platform upon which to stand.
Biden has never denied that he paraphrased Kinnock’s speech. Rather, according to him, it was a simple
mistake, one where he had repeatedly attributed the speech time and time again but failed to do so one time.
The controversy in Biden’s law school days involved over five pages of copy in a 15-page paper. Biden,
however, plead ignorance saying he did not know how he was supposed to properly cite his sources.
Pleading his case to stay in the school, Biden said that “My intent was not to deceive anyone. For if it were, I
would not have been so blatant,” and that, “If I had intended to cheat, would I have been so stupid?”
Apply concepts from the chapter to both incidents (the speech and the paper). For each incident, answer the
following questions:
1. According to the textbook was Biden being an ethical speaker/writer? Why or why not?
2. According to the NCA Ethical Credo, was Biden being an ethical speaker/writer? Why or why not?
3. Should we hold elected officials (and should they hold themselves) to a higher standard of speaking ethics?
Why or why not?
4. If you were Biden’s advisors, what would you suggest he do to respond to these allegations?
Group 2: Ethics Case Study:
Answer the following questions as a group and be prepared to share your answers and reasoning with the class.
Apply concepts from the textbook and from the NCA Ethical Credo to support your answers.
1. Should students have the right to use profanity and obscenity in their speeches in this class?
2. Should he Ku Klux Klan be allowed to hold a rally on our campus?
3. Should lawyers defend clients they know are guilty?
Group 3: Article from: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2008/08/26/the-biden-plagiarism-scandal/
According to Political Wire, a political blog founded by Taegan Goddard, a Wikipedia editor emailed the site to
let them know he noticed some similarities between a recent McCain speech about the crisis in Georgia with
Wikipedia’s article about the country.
Specifically, the article cites three comparisons that involve suspicious similarities.
Comparison 1
one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)
vs.
one of the world’s first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)
Comparison 2
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic
(1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet
Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and
economic crisis. (Wikipedia)
vs.
After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the
Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its
independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises.
(McCain)
Apply concepts from the chapter to both comparisons above and answer the following questions:
1. According to the textbook would it be fair to accuse McCain of plagiarism in this case? Why or why not?
2. According to the NCA Ethical Credo, was McCain being an ethical speaker/writer? Why or why not?
3. Should we hold elected officials (and should they hold themselves) to a higher standard of speaking ethics?
Why or why not?
4. If you were McCain’s advisors, what would you suggest he do to respond to these allegations?