McCain Plagarizes Like A College Freshman

We've all been there. You party hard all weekend, then Sunday rolls around and you're staring down a Monday deadline. You just need a little background filler to make the 10 page minimum on your international relations paper, so you paraphrase a Wikipedia entry. Understandable if you're a freshman, but disturbing when you're a presidential candidate. John McCain delivered a speech this morning on the developing crisis in Georgia, and it appears that he ripped off a Wikipedia entry.

A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Most people would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.

First instance:

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)

Second instance:

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)