The Nation - News from Sept. 28, 1987

A videotape that contained clips of speeches by Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and a British labor leader was given to two newspapers by someone connected to the campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Time magazine reported. Officials of the Dukakis campaign and the New York Times denied the report, and the second newspaper involved, the Des Moines Register, would not confirm or deny the report. The tape showed portions of a speech by Biden that at times used verbatim quotes from a speech by Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock. Biden did not attribute his words to Kinnock. The resulting furor over the unattributed words helped lead the Delaware senator to withdraw from the Democratic presidential race last week. The similarities between the speeches were noted several weeks ago by the Times and the Register.