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Dowd Sorry for 'Plagiarizing' Liberal Blog

Says Josh Marshall passage came unattributed from a pal

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted May 18, 2009 6:41 AM CDT

(Newser) – Fans of Talking Points Memo did a doubletake when they got to a passage in Maureen Dowd's column yesterday on the timing of Bush use of torture; Josh Marshall had written the same thing—short of three words—three days back. Dowd has corrected her column online, and the New York Times issued a correction today, but she calls it an oversight, telling the Huffington Post that she had not read Marshall's blog, but was offered the sentence unattributed by a friend.

"I was talking to a friend of mine Friday about what I was writing who suggested I make this point, expressing it in a cogent—and I assumed spontaneous—way and I wanted to weave the idea into my column. But, clearly, my friend must have read Josh Marshall without mentioning that to me." The sentence: "More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly during the period when the Bush crowd was looking for what was essentially political information to justify the invasion of Iraq."

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios, May 25, 2008. (Getty Images)

Maureen Dowd attends the God's Love We Deliver's 3rd Annual 'Authors in Kind' Luncheon held at The Rainbow Room April 4, 2006 in New York City. (Getty Images)

A quotation from Talking Points Memo blogger Josh Marshall went unattributed in a Maureen Dowd column in yesterday's New York Times. (©aprilzosia)

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More and more the timeline is raising the question of why, if the torture was to prevent terrorist attacks, it seemed to happen mainly when we were looking...to justify the invasion of Iraq. - Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, in a phrase repeated by Maureen Dowd

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 9 comments

lindamae

May 19, 2009 7:15 AM CDT

Another example of how much George soros must bre so happy tht he spent millions of his own money to discredit George Bush. Who can you trust? Even Pelosi is trying to blame Bush for her acceptance - plus the acceptance of many other Democrats - for the waterboarding as torture fiasco. To me, torture is when you die or lose your quality of life. Like your head. It is so anti American to call what we did torture when you look around the world and see what it is being compared to. Where are the brains in the Democratic party? I shudder to admit that I've been a member for more than 40 years.

nick

May 18, 2009 12:24 PM CDT

Oh, let it go. Explain, please, how this is a big deal?

cmenthead

May 18, 2009 12:07 PM CDT

CAUGHT !!! now watch how she will go from plagarizer to victim. can't wait to see how this will wrap up. can you imagineif newt or rush had done this ?

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Talking Points Memo (Source Grid »)
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Times says Dowd 'failed to attribute' the quotation
New York Times

Dowd's column, corrected
New York Times

Media • Politics

newspaper • New York Times • plagiarism • blog • Maureen Dowd • Talking Points Memo • op-ed

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Dowd Sorry for 'Plagiarizing' Liberal Blog