Now Hillary's Accused of Plagiarizing Edwards

Hillary Clinton wisecracked last night that Barack Obama was promising "change you can Xerox"—prompting the Obama camp to suggest Clinton may have cribbed part of that speech from John Edwards, writes Isaac Chotiner in the New Republic. It was the latest battle in the heated war of lifted words after Obama admitted copying phrases from a former Massachusetts governor.

The Obama campaign now claims that Clinton's thanks to her family and comment that "whatever happens, we're going to be fine" is suspiciously similar to Edwards thanking his family and concluding: "All of us are going to be just fine no matter what happens." The latest accusation prompted one New Republic reader to quip: "She thanked her family and her friends? Plagiarist!" Even Obama yesterday called the controversy part of the race's "silly season" that dispirits voters. (More Barack Obama stories.)