London, May 26 (IANS) A Republican congressional candidate has been accused of plagiarising US President Barack Obama’s speech on ‘the crossroads of history’.

Vaughn Ward, a former US Marine Corps officer and CIA operative, was running for the Republican congressional nomination in an election held Tuesday in Idaho.

The Telegraph reported Wednesday that Lucas Baumbach, a local party activist, tracked down a YouTube video that showed a strong similarity between Ward’s speech in January and Obama’s address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Obama said: ‘We stand on the crossroads of history. We can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.’

Ward said: ‘As we stand on the crossroads of history, I know we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that lay before us.’

There were a few more striking similarities between the two speeches.

Ward’s spokesperson, however, said: ‘Folks are getting desperate-they’re saying anything to get Vaughn to go after him. If anyone thinks he’s anything like Obama, they’re dead wrong.’