The Yes We Can pop quiz!

OK, Hillary may sound like Obama, and Obama may have lifted lines from others, but we think people are overreacting to this plagiarism thing. After all, George W. Bush ran the slogan Yes, America Can! back in 2004. The problem with populist communication is it leads to copywriting porridge -- words that are warm, sticky, and blandly homogeneous. Sooner or later, you can only spell oatmeal so many ways.

For proof, try matching the slogan with the talking head. These are real campaign lines from U.S. presidential candidates dating back to 1848. Then wait for the words to reappear magically on CNN sometime next week.

SLOGAN
(a) Real plans for real people
(b) Putting people first
(c) America needs a change
(d) A leader, for a change
(e) Peace and prosperity
(f) For the future
(g) Are you better off
(h) For president of the people
(i) Patriotism, protection, and prosperity
(j) Prosperity and progress
(k) The stakes are too high

TALKING HEAD
(a) George W. Bush
(b) Bill Clinton
(c) Walter Mondale
(d) Jimmy Carter
(e) Dwight Eisenhower
(f) Richard Nixon
(g) Ronald Reagan
(h) Zachary Taylor
(i) William McKinley
(j) Al Gore
(k) Lyndon B. Johnson

ANSWERS
˙snoıʌqo ooʇ ʇsnɾ sɐʍ ǝuo ʇɐɥʇ ʇnq 'ooʇ 'sʇnuɐǝd uo ǝʇonb ǝɔıu ɐ pɐɥ ɹǝʇɹɐɔ ʎɯɯıɾ ˙ɔʇǝ 'q = q 'ɐ = ɐ ǝɹɐ ǝʌoqɐ ǝɥʇ ɟo llɐ oʇ sɹǝʍsuɐ ǝɥʇ