Not only has Biden been accused of pilfering ideas, he may also have "inflated his academic record," (Harvey). Biden defends himself and denies any conscious attempt to steal others' ideas. Regarding his Syracuse Law School fiasco, Biden defends himself with ignorance, saying that he had no idea how to properly cite material as a "freshman" in law school. As Nokes points out, no first-year student in law school is a true freshman. By the time he matriculated at Syracuse, Biden had already graduated from the University of Delaware and should have been well aware of the academic standards for properly cited material and the strict rules against plagiarism. In a blog post, a writer known as "cacambo" claims that Biden had intended to cite Kinnock in the 1987 speech and that "pretty tough to come across a political speech where the candidate doesn't quote or paraphrase someone else" without citing the original. Moreover, "cacambo" states that "Biden was cleared of wrongdoing by both the Syracuse Law School and the Delaware Bar Association" and that the offense was heavily blown out of proportion. Biden is believed to have called the media attention to his plagiarism "frankly ludicrous," and many in the media agreed that plagiarism is "hardly a capital offense," ("Plagiarism and Politics").

Political speeches are often built on the rhetorical techniques and devices of others. Borrowing themes from past political icons is not necessarily a crime and in fact, paying homage to political greats can bolster a candidate's image. However, when material is directly quoted it should of course be cited. Yet except for the nearly verbatim portion of the Biden speech, only...

The Biden incident raised pertinent questions and issues related to the concept of intellectual property. Rules for plagiarism have become strict so that even the "discourse template" is considered sacrosanct ("Politics and Plagiarism"). Whether or not the boundaries of acceptable use are being stretched too far, plagiarism ruined Biden's bid for the 1987 Democratic nominee.
Now that Biden is back in the running, his credibility is called into question once more. Plagiarism may not be a capital offense but it can be a career buster. Biden has become a poster child for plagiarism and is used to frighten college students away from copying and pasting for their papers. Not only politicians but individuals in any profession must take care not to pass off someone else's words, concepts, or rhetorical structures as their own.

Works Cited

Harvey, Michael. "The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing." 2003 Retrieved 29 July 2007 from http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/plagiarism.html

Nokes, Richard. "Insta-plagiarism." Unlocked Wordhoard. 20 Jun 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2007 at http://unlocked-wordhoard.blogspot.com/2005/06/insta-plagiarism.html

The Plagiarism Plague." BBC News. 7 Feb 2003. Retrieved 29 July 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2736575.stm

Politics and Plagiarism." Famous Plagiarists.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007 at http://www.famousplagiarists.com/politics.htm

Sabato, Larry J. "Joseph Biden's Plagiarism." Washington Post.com. 1998. Retrieved 29 July 2007 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/biden.htm