George W. Bush Memoir - Did President Plagiarize in his new Book?

Did George W. Bush plagiarize in his new memoir “Decision Points?” The former president has been making the rounds discussing his book, which was released this past Tuesday. Now, there are allegations that parts of the book were lifted from others.

Crown Publishing promised the public “gripping, never-before-heard detail” about Bush’s key decisions as president of the U.S. However, some readers have been disappointed because it appears as if the president took word for word anecdotes from memoirs that were already published by people who worked with George W. Bush. Of course, Peter Rough was the assistant who helped the president research his memoir, and his speechwriter Christopher Michel also collaborated on the book.

An Example of a Plagiarized Passage in George W. Bush’s Memoir

Bush’s memoir says the following: "When Karzai arrived in Kabul for his inauguration on December 22 - 102 days after 9/11 - several Northern Alliance leaders and their bodyguards greeted him at an airport. As Karzai walked across the tarmac alone, a stunned Tajik warlord asked where all his men were. Karzai, responded, 'Why, General, you are my men. All of you who are Afghans are my men.'"

Ahmed Rashid wrote the following in the New York Review of Books: "At the airport to receive [Karzai] was the warlord General Mohammad Fahim, a Tajik from the Panjshir Valley .... As the two men shook hands on the tarmac, Fahim looked confused. 'Where are your men?' he asked. Karzai turned to him in his disarmingly gentle manner of speaking. 'Why General," he replied, "you are my men--all of you are Afghans and are my men.'"

Is anyone that surprised? It is disappointing for sure, but it’s really not a huge surprise. There is no word on if George W. Bush will face any legal actions over the instances where he plagiarized in his memoir. Do you think he should?

You can't help but feel a little bad for Bush. He has been so proud of himself this week for writing his book. Of course, you absolutely have to feel bad for the other authors who had their work basically stolen with no credit given. The whole thing is an embarassing disaster for both the president and the publisher.

Have you read the book? The Huffington Post has put together an entire slide show of the passages that make them think that Bush did plagiarize throughout his book.