No, it’s not “evidence” in the same way that duplication of exact phrases would be evidence of plagiarism. But do I see and hear a cadence and rhythm and style that is oddly similar. Writer’s have distinct voices. So it’s not at all a stretch to consider the possibility.
That said, these are only two passages, and the entirety of the two books would need to be considered. Or, Obama may have just been enamored of Ayers’ writing and tried to emulate it—especially since he had no clear voice and writing skills of his own at the time, evidenced by his defaulting on the first book contract he’d been given an advance and something like 2 years to produce.
I really must protest.
This is just preposterous. Two sentences have been pulled out of two different books. Ayres book is 304 pages, Obama’s is 464.
That two sentences pulled from these two books have similar sentence structure means literally nothing. It demonstrates only that they are both writing in English.
The rest of the linked article is a ridiculous pyramid of speculation piled on speculation in which yawning logical chasms are effortlessly leaped in a single paranoid bound.
That an author had trouble completing a book on time and then finally did complete it - gee, that never happens unless a vile reptilian conspiracy is afoot!
Come on people.