There is speculation that a McCain speechwriter lifted some phrases about Georgia from a Wikipedia article (link via Wikipedia Blog).

According to Taegan Goddard of Political Insider, here are the three instances that people are focusing on:

First instance:

one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)

vs.

one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)

Second instance:

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia)

vs.

After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain)

Third instance:

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. (Wikipedia)

vs.

Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms. (McCain)

A couple of things to note here. Discussion seems to be focusing on McCain's speechwriter and not McCain. If these allegations are true, how responsible is McCain (especially given Hillary Clinton's "change you can Xerox" remark during the Democratic primary)?

More importantly, why wouldn't McCain/Speechwriter use Wikipedia the way it's intended? Why wouldn't they head to the bottom of the article on Georgia and click on one of the 68 footnotes, or check out one of the 11 books listed under "further reading," or click on the many "external links." I fully understand why someone would avoid openly citing Wikipedia in a political speech, and I (along with many others) would argue that it's pretty much never okay to cite an encyclopedia. But why not cite one of these other sources? It keeps you from plagiarizing, it provides a more authoritative source, and it might even make you sound smart ("Wow, John McCain read a few books about Georgia").