Plagiarism or Allusion?
Karl at Protein Wisdom quotes North Carolina governor Mike Easley as saying that “Clinton” (Hillary, not Bill, I presume) “makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy”. No one seems to have noticed that he appears to have stolen the idea from an aphorism of the late Frank Rizzo, two-term mayor of Philadelphia: “I’m gonna come on so strong I’ll make Attila the Hun look like a faggot”. Perhaps it’s an allusion or inadvertent reminiscence rather than conscious plagiarism: Rocky and Rizzo make for a double connection to Philadelphia. Either way, I suppose you have to be a Democrat to get away with this kind of thing.
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Or just a standard trope?
“X makes/will make very-strong-person-Y look weak” is old and hoary, isn’t it?
Comment by Sigivald — Wednesday: April 30, 2008 @ 12:36 PM GMT-0500
“Either way, I suppose you have to be a Democrat to get away with this kind of thing.”
For the record, every Democrat I know who isn’t either a) someone who reads no news whatever) or b) a Clinton fanatic, was absolutely appalled by Easley’s homophobic remarks. God knows I am. But I’ve been appalled by innumerable aspects of the Clinton campaign since about Super Tuesday — as have all the Democrats whose views I respect. That’s why we’ve all been for Obama.
Comment by Gary Farber — Tuesday: May 20, 2008 @ 8:19 AM GMT-0500