according to people close the IOC this is not a rebuke of America, Obama, or Chicago.

it's more a rebuke of the US Olympic Committee who the IOC thinks has been strong arming the IOC on shares of broadcast profits and other financial issues.

also the whole "getting busted for the bribery thing" regarding Salt Lake City from just a few years ago, is really fresh in their mind.

Atlanta getting bombed in 1996 wasn't anything to brag about either.

10/2/2009 10:29:05 PM

refresh me on the bribery thing? I thought there was coercion on the part of foreign judges in that one. Or am I thinking of something else

10/2/2009 10:31:54 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Winter_Olympic_bid_scandal

10/2/2009 10:38:25 PM

Quote :

"Atlanta getting bombed in 1996 wasn't anything to brag about either."

Yes..and honor students being beaten to death with 2x4s by Chicago gang-bangers didn't help either.

It also didn't help to have the Obamas drone on and on about how it would make them personally happy to have the olympics in Chi-Town...


MICHELLE: And I'm not asking just as the First Lady of the United States, who is eager to welcome the world to our shores. And not just as a Chicagoan, who is proud and excited to show the world what my city can do. Not just as a mother raising two beautiful young women to embrace athleticism and pursue their full potential.

I'm also asking as a daughter.

See, my dad would have been so proud to witness these Games in Chicago. And I know they would have meant something much more to him, too.

And I've brought somebody with me today who knows a little something about change. My husband, the President of the United States -- Barack Obama.

BARACK: Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential election.

So I've come here today to urge you to choose Chicago for the same reason I chose Chicago nearly 25 years ago -- the reason I fell in love with the city I still call home. And it's not just because it's where I met the woman you just heard from -- although after getting to know her this week, I know you'll all agree that she's a pretty big selling point for the city.

You see, growing up, my family moved around a lot. I was born in Hawaii. I lived in Indonesia for a time. I never really had roots in any one place or culture or ethnic group... etc

[Edited on October 2, 2009 at 10:51 PM. Reason : .]

10/2/2009 10:51:32 PM

Quote :

"Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential election. So I've come here today to urge you to choose Chicago for the same reason I chose Chicago nearly 25 years ago -- the reason I fell in love with the city I still call home. And it's not just because it's where I met the woman you just heard from -- although after getting to know her this week, I know you'll all agree that she's a pretty big selling point for the city. You see, growing up, my family moved around a lot. I was born in Hawaii. I lived in Indonesia for a time. I never really had roots in any one place or culture or ethnic group... etc"

Even Politico's Ben Smith described the speech as being "very much about his and America's identity, and not the IOC's sometimes transactional politics, raising the stakes for the decision"

10/3/2009 12:22:20 AM

ya hard not to imagine the ioc taking that whole thing as overly cheesy but don't bring up crime in chicago when Rio is a combination of some of the worlds richest areas and poorest areas adjecent to each other and the things that take place because of this class gradient aren't pretty

10/3/2009 12:22:56 AM

I think the focus on Barack Obama as being part of the IOCs decision is asinine, actually. Both from the perspective of the right who would like to pass this off as an administration failure and some on the left, at least those like Boone, whose initial reaction was disbelief that the President's presence was so quickly dismissed.

I think both reveal a very American view that the US is central to the world and that we play a role in every decision about ever international issue that someone else makes.


I think information can be gleaned about Barack Obama in his handling of the issue, but I don't think much is to be learned by us from the IOCs handling of the issue.

10/3/2009 12:28:28 AM

^
Agreed. Hopefully Pres Obama is learning that success is not guaranteed simply by the presence of his magical charisma and telepromptiness.

10/3/2009 12:38:59 AM

title reminds me of this:





Also, what a bunch of stupid faggots on the political right, flipping out about the POTUS trying to score the Olympics for the U.S.

10/3/2009 12:52:25 AM

Quote :

"^^^ Talk about a non sequitur. "

The white man is being persecuted, don’t you know? They’re not even allowed to speak their mind anymore.

10/3/2009 2:21:39 AM

That Drudge Headline has to be one of the better ones he's had.

THE EGO HAS LANDED

I think it should have ben EGOS, though, what with The Three Big O's in attendance.

As much as I would like to slam the President for once again displaying what an enormous failure has been thus far, I find it hard to add any more to THE EGO HAS LANDED.

I heard of the Yes men that exist around powerful people (i.e., Andrew Young::John Edwards), but you would think the President of the United States would have someone around to keep his head on the level. Instead, everyone is passing the Flavor Aid to each other and heaping praise upon praise on this young, handsome, intelligent, inexperienced man and making him feel that he truly does walk on water.

I was half tempted to make a thread entitled: Messiah Obama brings the Olympics to Chicago, shortly after it was announced that they received 18 of 94 possible votes, but I figured someone would post about how upset they are and how the IOC completely shafted Chicago and OOO. My better judgement won out, however, when I saw Boone's thread.

The perfect person, the perfect title, the perfect thread.

Well played Boone.

What flavor are you drinking today?

10/3/2009 7:24:37 AM

Quote :

"Despite the prestige, the Olympics are net economic loser - just ask Montreal. If anything, Chicagoans should be thankful Obama flubbed it."

Pretty much how I felt when I heard the news.

10/3/2009 7:31:43 AM

I agree with Kdawg.

The US WON by losing this economic disaster. Its no surprise O wasted over a million dollars trying to get it. Maybe he will focus on more important issues.

I even saw where a senator blamed bush for this. LOL People are really besides themselves that O didnt deliver. You cant help but laugh. Its like the people who were waiting for the rapture at the turn of the century. Totaly shock and disappointment..

10/3/2009 8:29:32 AM

I like Michael Savage's prediction.... Wait for the liberals to spin it as proof that Obama is so honorable that he wouldn't bribe the IOC enough so they gave it to Rio.

10/3/2009 8:34:01 AM

10/3/2009 8:37:18 AM

^ Photoshop fail.

^x5 I'm not sure how you're making the leap from a pitch for the Olympics to Obama thinking he's the messiah. It seems to me that this is more "opportunity to rant about how much you dislike Obama" than "actual cause to dislike Obama."

And if nothing else, realize that you just admitted to wanting to do exactly what I did, only inverted. So I'm rubber, and you're glue, in this thread.

10/3/2009 8:53:26 AM

did the picture not show up boone? I can see it

10/3/2009 8:56:34 AM

No, it's just a terrible photoshop.

Quote :

"When the International Olympic Committee voted against Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics this morning -- after the President and First Lady flew to Copenhagen to push for it in person -- the Weekly Standard newsroom burst into applause. "Cheers erupt at Weekly Standard world headquarters," wrote editor John McCormack in a post titled "Chicago Loses! Chicago Loses!" The line was quickly removed, but ThinkProgress caught it in time and posted a screenshot of the post."

Quote :

""Please, please let me break this news to you. It's so sweet," said Glenn Beck on his radio show."

Quote :

""For those of you ... who are upset that I sound gleeful, I am. I don't deny it. I'm happy," Limbaugh said. "Anything that gets in the way of Barack Obama accomplishing his domestic agenda is fine with me.""

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/weekly-standard-newsroom-erupts-into-cheers-at-news-of-olympics.php?ref=fpa


If I were hooksaw, I'd say "Anti-American circle jerk "



[Edited on October 3, 2009 at 11:11 AM. Reason : ]

10/3/2009 11:07:56 AM

cheering at the loss of an economically dubious sporting event

vs.

cheering at the prospect of a losing war effort and the release of torture photographs from abu graib




.... discuss!

10/3/2009 11:50:51 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-scarborough/thank-you-mr-president_b_308022.html

Quote :

"Count me as one conservative who is disappointed that President Obama's hometown will not be hosting the 2016 Olympic Games. Chicago is a beautiful city that would have made a perfect backdrop for the Olympics. The President was right to fly to Copenhagen to try to land the games, not for the sake of his city, but for the good of his country. The fact President Obama failed makes me respect him more for taking the chance, and the fact many right-wing figures opposed the President's mission shows just how narrow-minded partisanship makes us all. "

10/3/2009 12:23:30 PM

that's pretty rich, coming from the Huffington Post which was a regular cheerleader to America's enemies when Bush was in office

10/3/2009 12:25:06 PM

Quote :

" (CNN) -- Whenever President Obama has traveled overseas and offered pointed and direct assessments of the United States, some of them critical, Republicans have ripped him for criticizing America, saying a president should always defend the United States. So I want to hear the explanation by these so-called patriots of their giddy behavior over the United States losing the 2016 Olympic Games. Yes, the United States. The bid that was rejected Friday by the International Olympic Committee was not a Chicago, Illinois, bid. It was the official bid submitted by the United States Olympic Committee and was representative of the nation. Tokyo's bid was that of Japan; Madrid's was that of Spain; and Rio de Janeiro's was that of Brazil. Republicans want to spin the decision as a massive loss by President Obama and the Democrats who have always controlled Chicago politics. "Hahahahaha," wrote Erick Erickson on the conservative "RedState" blog, "I thought the world would love us more now that Bush was gone." What the critics don't see is that Obama's loss on the Olympics is America's loss. Any red-blooded American who loves to see the American flag raised and the national anthem played when one of our own wins a gold medal should blast the Republicans' giddiness over the loss. I can recall crying along with millions of Americans when our hockey team beat the Russians and won the hockey gold in 1980. Where were those games? Lake Placid, New York. Euphoria spread all across the nation, not only because we beat the mighty Russians, but also because it took place on American soil. Don't Miss * Commentary: Democratic incompetence not funny * In Depth: Commentaries When Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton dominated the 1984 Olympic Games, we all beamed with pride because they represented the United States on American soil in Los Angeles, California. And when Michael Johnson stormed around the track to obliterate the world record in the 200-meter dash (since broken by Jamaica's Usain Bolt), we relished the win as he took a victory lap around the stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Americans love home field advantage, and we always desire to show the rest of the world what we are made of. I don't care if Republicans want to rip President Obama over going to Copenhagen, Denmark, to pitch for the games. This isn't about politics. It's not about ideology. This is about America. OUR pride. Our chance to shine. Our loss of the games. So, to all the critics happy about us losing the 2016 games, turn in your flag lapel pins and stop boasting of being so patriotic. When an American city loses, like New York did in the the last go-round, we all lose. And all you critics are on the same level as the America haters all across the world. You should be shouted down for not backing your own country. The next time any of you bang out a press release about "Buy American" or "Support our troops," remember this moment when your cynical, callous and small-minded brains happily rejoiced when America lost the 2016 Olympic Games."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/03/martin.olympics.defeat/index.html

10/3/2009 1:03:09 PM

Quote :

"I'm not sure how you're making the leap from a pitch for the Olympics to Obama thinking he's the messiah. It seems to me that this is more "opportunity to rant about how much you dislike Obama" than "actual cause to dislike Obama." And if nothing else, realize that you just admitted to wanting to do exactly what I did, only inverted. So I'm rubber, and you're glue, in this thread."

I don’t get it either. I didn’t think the right actually thought Obama thought he was the messiah, but they say it enough that they must actually believe that. Chicago never really had a chance, but could you imagine what they’d be saying when the US lost the bid, and Obama had never gone to address the IOC?

Obama would have been attacked either way, and he knew it (which is why I’m guessing they decided to speak to the IOC afterall), but at least this way they make the right look bad.

Their rhetoric also seems to imply that they think the rest of the world still hates us, which they seem glad about (which polls don’t show…). As much as the right talks about how much they hate Bush these days, they get some satisfaction of trying to convince themselves that he wasn’t as bad as they are saying he was.

10/3/2009 1:13:17 PM

Quote :

"Their rhetoric also seems to imply that they think the rest of the world still hates us, which they seem glad about (which polls don’t show…)."

Are you people really that bad at picking out and understanding the arguments of your opponents?

The argument being made by the conservative blogs isn't even that hard:

1) Obama losing the Olympics implies that the rest of the world still hates us
2) Obama was supposedly supposed to fix this, per his campaign, through a strategy of diplomacy
3) Per the conservatives, diplomacy doesn't work

Therefore:

4) The rest of the world hating us isn't a function of diplomacy (which has been the right-wingers' argument since Iraq)
5) Obama is wrong, we (conservatives) are right.

I don't even agree with their argument and it's still not that hard to identify.

10/3/2009 1:18:55 PM

Quote :

"that's pretty rich, coming from the Huffington Post which was a regular cheerleader to America's enemies when Bush was in office"

It's coming from Joe Scarborough. It just happens to be printed in the Huffington Post.

10/3/2009 1:20:32 PM

^^ umm… that’s exactly the argument i identified, and I said was stupid.

The IOC not giving the US the olympics has nothing to do with whether the world hates us or hates Obama, despite what conservative blogs are apparently cheering about.

10/3/2009 1:39:22 PM

Uh, no. You specifically said:

Quote :

"Their rhetoric also seems to imply that they think the rest of the world still hates us, which they seem glad about (which polls don’t show…). As much as the right talks about how much they hate Bush these days, they get some satisfaction of trying to convince themselves that he wasn’t as bad as they are saying he was."

First of all, whether they seem "glad" that the world hates us has next to nothing to do with the argument, aside from perhaps a vindicating condition of their argument. Nobody likes the fact that the world disdains us; but when your argument is that your chief opponent's strategy is supposed to change this, the fact that it has not changed is, by the argument, vindicating evidence.

Again, the argument isn't about some perverse satisfaction in American being disliked; it's (in their eyes) a matter of being vindicated in their view that Obama's charm offensive isn't going to change anything, and, from their argument, the failed Olympic bid is proof of this.

Thus, argument in question is the Olympic bid being a proxy for Obama's diplomacy, particularly in contrast to the last administration. Their argument is that it doesn't matter how nice we play with the rest of the world, they're still going to dislike us, which in turn works back into their positions around the time of the invasion of Iraq. This isn't an argument about whether Bush was "bad," but in defending their own position of whether or not things would have gone any better if Bush had played nice-nice with other countries. If you've followed anything these people have been saying about Iran, it's the same narrative playing through there, too; diplomacy is a doomed effort. (I'm not saying I agree, I'm saying it's not that hard to make the connections to understand the argument.)

10/3/2009 2:02:41 PM

Quote :

"Thus, argument in question is the Olympic bid being a proxy for Obama's diplomacy, particularly in contrast to the last administration. Their argument is that it doesn't matter how nice we play with the rest of the world, they're still going to dislike us, which in turn works back into their positions around the time of the invasion of Iraq. This isn't an argument about whether Bush was "bad," but in defending their own position of whether or not things would have gone any better if Bush had played nice-nice with other countries. If you've followed anything these people have been saying about Iran, it's the same narrative playing through there, too; diplomacy is a doomed effort. (I'm not saying I agree, I'm saying it's not that hard to make the connections to understand the argument.) "

Right… such a serpentine train of logic on their part is due to a…

Quote :

" perverse satisfaction in American [and thus Obama] being disliked"

Not that the choice has anything to do with America or Obama being disliked, but they have to frame if this way for the previously outlined train of thought to work.

10/3/2009 2:11:28 PM

My point is that the phenomenon is not about the Olympics per se; it is simply being used as a (convoluted) data point to a larger theory. The people making this argument are eager to throw cold water on the idea that Obama's "charm offensive" will reap any tangible benefit to our foreign goals. The Olympics are simply a somewhat shoehorned data point into this theory.

10/3/2009 2:16:41 PM

Well, its not exactly shoehorned, is it?

10/3/2009 2:17:44 PM

Quote :

" The people making this argument are eager to throw cold water on the idea that Obama's "charm offensive" will reap any tangible benefit to our foreign goals"

This ship has sailed. The world already likes us more. The fact that the right tries their hardest to ignore this reality, which this whole IOC thing is representative of, shows just how sad the state of their rhetoric is.

10/3/2009 2:21:08 PM

Quote :

"an economically dubious sporting event"

As if it were just a matter of money in v. money out. There's national prestige involved.

The IOC chose Atlanta in 1990. Why weren't conservatives calling out HW Bush?

10/3/2009 2:55:19 PM

Quote :

"Why weren't conservatives calling out HW Bush?"

For one, Obama is the first sitting president to make a bid before the IOC.

However, history does not exactly show conservatives being particularly fond of the elder Bush. See, for instance, the GOP primary leading up to the '92 election.

10/3/2009 3:12:45 PM

Quote :

"Their argument is that it doesn't matter how nice we play with the rest of the world, they're still going to dislike us"

Quote :

"This ship has sailed. The world already likes us more."

Both of these miss the point that diplomacy is about more than words. It is about hard, you scratch my back, deals cut behind doors. The President's public persona might set the tone, but it doesn't seal the deal. In this specific case, the fact that a rather large number of Olympics have been held in North America since the 1980s probably played a factor, as did the fact that South America had never held a game.


Obama probably shouldn't have done, but I imagine he got pressure from old friends in Chicago to do so. The right needs to let go, this wasn't a "failure" for him. The left also needs to disabuse itself of the notion that, since we now have an intelligent, articulate, and cosmopolitan President, the world is going to fall all over itself to seek our favor, do our bidding, and match our will on account of some well received speeches.

10/3/2009 6:28:39 PM

the president expended political capital. that's how political capital works.

what makes this interesting is that he expended political capital (for nothing, as it turned out) during a time when he could ill afford to spare any.

10/3/2009 6:30:23 PM

so how much you want to bet that if Obama didn't personally make his case for the Chicago games, the Right would be blaming him for allowing the US to lose the Olympics?

10/3/2009 7:35:59 PM

Quote :

"what makes this interesting is that he expended political capital (for nothing, as it turned out) during a time when he could ill afford to spare any."

What's even more interesting is that the people complaining about him expending political capital are the ones who are doing everything they can to diminish his political capital.

This is like the US complaining that the Taliban is running out of bombs.

10/3/2009 7:48:02 PM

Quote :

"Chicago never really had a chance"

If that is truly the case, then that is further proof that Obama thinks he is the messiah he isn't.

Why else would he have gone unless he was certain Chicago would be selected? Because the Yes people around him assured him that, if he went, the IOC would be awed by his presence and select Chicago.

Only they weren't.

And they didn't.

10/3/2009 8:24:43 PM

10/3/2009 8:48:29 PM

Conservative media, as a whole, it would seem.

10/3/2009 9:06:24 PM

Quote :

"What's even more interesting is that the people complaining about him expending political capital are the ones who are doing everything they can to diminish his political capital."

Why, for a moment, would you expect the opposition not to do this?

10/3/2009 9:27:28 PM

Quote :

"Why else would he have gone unless he was certain Chicago would be selected?"

Why would he go if he was certain Chicago would be selected? The only thing he could do would be to fuck it up

10/3/2009 9:31:12 PM

I don't really see the big deal in all of this. Doesn't seem to me that Obama "wasted" a lot of time on this. It shouldn't really be a surprise given how often the US has had the Olympics recently (Atlanta, Salt Lake City, LA, Lake Placid, etc). There are a lot of countries out there that deserve to have it, at least once. It would have been cool to have it in Chicago, some place relatively close that maybe a lot of us would try to attend.

I'm actually kind of happy that it's being held in Rio. Eastern Time Zone FTW! No tape delay BS, a la China and Australia!

10/5/2009 9:05:11 AM

Quote :

"The IOC not giving the US the olympics has nothing to do with whether the world hates us or hates Obama, despite what conservative blogs are apparently cheering about."

moron

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=577979&page=2

Tell that to the Democrats who are blaming Bush for the Olympics failure:

Burris blames Bush for Olympic flameout
October 4 [2009]

Quote :

"Burris stated in an interview, shortly after the announcement, that the image of the U. S. has been so tarnished in the last 8 years that, even Barack Obama making an unprecedented pitch for the games could not overcome the hatred the world has for us as a result of George Bush."

http://tinyurl.com/y8gmbrr

Inevitable: Chicago pols blame Bush for Olympics loss
October 4, 2009

Quote :

"'There must be' resentment against America, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, near the stage where he had hoped to give a victory speech in Daley Center Plaza. 'The way we [refused to sign] the Kyoto Treaty, we misled the world into Iraq. The world had a very bad taste in its mouth about us. But there was such a turnaround after last November. The world now feels better about America and about Americans. That's why I thought the president's going was the deal-maker.' State Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago) said she saw firsthand the resentment against America five years ago when she was in Rio de Janeiro. 'I feel in my gut that this vote today was political and mean-spirited,' she said. 'I travel a lot. … I thought we had really turned a corner with the election of President Obama. People are so much more welcoming of Americans now. But this isn't the people of those countries. This is the leaders still living with outdated impressions of Americans.' U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said she was approached by a consul general at the plaza as they waited for word Friday. 'He said … he was hearing that there wasn't enough time for Barack Obama to dispel the old image. … But I don't know if that's it.'"

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/10/04/inevitable-chicago-pols-blame-bush-for-olympics-loss/

Quote :

"BUSH DID IT"

10/5/2009 6:42:11 PM

Bold Highlight

Quote :

"Quoted Text"

http://linky.link


Bold Highlight

Quote :

"Quoted Text"

http://linky.link


:rolly:

10/6/2009 2:16:25 AM

^ Which means you've got nothing--as usual. Let's try again:

A claim was made:

Quote :

"The IOC not giving the US the olympics has nothing to do with whether the world hates us or hates Obama, despite what conservative blogs are apparently cheering about."

moron

message_topic.aspx?topic=577979&page=2

According to many spiteful Democrats, the claim is wrong:

Quote :

"Tell that to the Democrats who are blaming Bush for the Olympics failure:"

hooksaw

Burris blames Bush for Olympic flameout
October 4 [2009]

http://tinyurl.com/y8gmbrr

Inevitable: Chicago pols blame Bush for Olympics loss
October 4, 2009

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/10/04/inevitable-chicago-pols-blame-bush-for-olympics-loss/

So, as usual:

Quote :

"BUSH DID IT"

10/6/2009 4:36:55 PM

ahahaha, hooksaw actually wins that one.



Both parties are pretty god-damned stupid.

10/6/2009 4:40:17 PM

Quote :

"The IOC not giving the US the olympics has nothing to do with whether the world hates us or hates Obama, despite what conservative blogs obvious idiots are apparently cheering about."

Better?

10/6/2009 4:44:24 PM

^ I find it peculiar that some--conservative or otherwise--were cheering when the United States lost the Olympics. I am simply pointing out that many on the left don't look at some Democrats who are--once again--blaming Bush for this as an equally damned peculiar event.

FTR, I have never said that Obama shouldn't have attempted to gain the Olympics for the United States and I didn't cheer when we didn't get the games. My concern was Obama's continued naiveté concerning IOC and world politics and Obama's apparent belief that his mere presence is the answer to just about everything.

10/6/2009 5:00:00 PM

why does it have to be naivety ?? talk about bias, you need to check your own.

of the four major nations in the running, every president/head of state was there making the case. So, Obama took the day to go make the case as best he could.

how could he do otherwise? Even though he knew as well as anyone that it was a dog-and-pony show. it was damned if he did, damned if he didnt.

i think everyone who's got a bit of sense knows this was about IOC politics and not Obama, Chicagoans or Americans.




[Edited on October 6, 2009 at 5:09 PM. Reason : ]

10/6/2009 5:08:44 PM