Berardelli Says: Bill Thompson Stole My Tagline

In a discussion that seems reminiscent of the ones we heard when Barack Obama used the phrase “Yes, we can” as his campaign slogan, Gene Berardelli (R-C) — 46th District City Council candidate running against City Councilman Lew Fidler — says that Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson stole his campaign slogan.

On one of his Facebook pages, Berardelli entered a Tweet with two simple words, “Slogan Thief” and included a link to his campaign website.  The link directs those interested in political fights — especially between candidates who are not running against each other — to an article written by “Administrator”.

The phrase being used by both the Mayoral and the City Council candidates is none other than the title of the popular TV comedy drama series show from the 1970’s and early ’80’s. It is also none other than the one that Barack Obama used in his now-famous 2008 Democratic Presidential nominee acceptance speech.

Berardelli says that the fact that he was using the slogan since June, whereas Bill Thompson has been using it only recently — is proof positive that not only is Thompson following his race, but that he also lifted the slogan from his campaign speeches, literature and website.

This must mean that either Berardelli didn’t read Jeffrey Ecker’s January 27, 2009 commentary in the New York Times, about the birth of Nadya Suleman’s octuplets, entitled “Eight Is Enough”, or he might be under the impression that no one in Thompson’s camp did, either.

Let’s hope that there will not be another television show about a family with (at least) eight children, another set of eight babies born, or another politician trying to get voted in beyond eight years (etc.) — because television executives, media professionals and politicians (etc.) seem to have run out of novel phrases by which to refer to the situation — without  being called thieves, that is.