Is Gordon Brown outsourcing US speechwriters?

Is the man with the constant frown, Gordon Brown, beginning to sound like Bill Clinton and Al Gore? The British tend to believe so. In a recent speech, Brown has been accused of 'rehashing' both the rhetoric and structure of past speeches by the two 90's era Democrats.

Chris Grayling, a Tory frontbench spokesman, said: “We all know Gordon Brown’s announcements are reheated, and now his language seems reheated too. This destroys the myth that we are seeing a Prime Minister who has given up spin. Far from being the genuine article, he is just a copycat prime minister rehashing old material from US politicians.”

Judge for yourself...

Mr Brown: “Sometimes people say I am too serious and I fight too hard and maybe that’s true”

Al Gore’s 2000 presidential nomination acceptance speech : “I know my own imperfections. I know that sometimes people say I’m too serious, that I talk too much substance and policy.”
......

Mr Brown: “This is my pledge to the British people: I will not let you down”

Al Gore’s 2000 nomination acceptance speech: “I pledge to you tonight: I will work for you every day and I will never let you down.”
......

Mr Brown: “This is the century where our country cannot afford to waste the talents of anyone”

Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in 1995 : “As we move into this next century, everybody matters; we don't have a person to waste.
......

Mr Brown: “This is my pledge to the British people: I will not let you down”

Al Gore’s 2000 nomination acceptance speech: “I pledge to you tonight: I will work for you every day and I will never let you down.”

Sounds pretty familiar, right?....it should. Mr. Gordon Brown has been consulting with Bob Shrum, "one of America's highest paid political advertising and speech consultants" or as the Democrats call him, "the curse".

Mr Brown also closely followed Mr Shrum’s speeches in structure. They often begin with a story about the candidate’s mother and father and what they taught him. Mr Brown did that on Monday [Sept. 20]

Bob Shrum has fought eight US presidential elections and lost them all. That has not stopped his re-emergence as an influence on Gordon Brown, an old friend to whom he has played host in Cape Cod.

The veteran Democratic strategist helped to write the Prime Minister’s conference speech and is even said to have been given a desk at the Cabinet Office from where he is helping to plan Labour’s election campaign. timesonline

It's a sad day when the UK begin outsourcing American political speechwriters. It's not a bad gig for Shrum, though. All he needs to do is keep recycling his previous speeches he's written. No new material necessary. What's next... will Bill Kristol and Tony Snow become speech 'consultants' for the new UN Middle East peace envoy, Tony Blair? The rhetoric of fear continues on...

Same Players. Different Scandal.