And to think, just a few months ago, it was unpatriotic to go without a flag pin. Now, however, actively rooting for your country to lose an Olympic bid is PATRIOTISM DEFINED! At any rate, the commentary is pretty predictable, but two pieces stood out as excessively stupid. First, Rick Moran:
He placed the prestige of his presidency directly on the line and failed. That’s the bottom line. He gambled with the one thing no president should ever gamble with unless the stakes are much higher than his hometown getting the Olympic games.
But wait, he’s just getting warmed up. Over at his own joint he really gets worried, but it is so silly it is not worth even quoting (he’s essentially declaring this a failed Presidency and a Republican comeback is in the works).
Second, the Politico’s Ben Smith:
There’s a reason the president is rarely dispatched to a summit whose outcome is uncertain.
And Chicago’s elimination in the first round of voting has to raise questions about whether the White House was getting accurate information about how competitive this was from Chicago’s Olympics organizers.
The White House staked, and lost, some prestige on that one.
First, I would like to point out to both of these folks that the leaders of every nation attended. Did they all lose prestige, too? Is the “diminishment” of Spain’s head of state also good news for Republicans? And where did I find this little morsel of information?
Why, a little website called the POLITICO.
Second, if Chicago had won the bid, what prestige would the Presidency gain? New constitutional powers? Would he be addressed as “President and successful Olympics lobbyist Barack Obama” from here on out? Would this prestige pass on to future Presidents? Or just this White House?
Finally, what prestige did he lose? Did they take away the football? Will they no longer call him President? Will he have to give up Air Force One? Was he kicked out of the White House? Will members of his secret service detail think to themselves “Yesterday, I would have taken a bullet for him. Now, with the stench of defeat all over him, I’m not so sure.” What foreign leader who would have answered a call from the White House yesterday will today refuse because Chicago did not get the Olympics? Same for members of congress? Or fundraisers? If the White House said they would like for Ben Smith to conduct an interview, would Ben say “No thank you, your diminished status as President leaves me no choice but to decline.”
This is the kind of mind-numbingly stupid wankery that we get when people have nothing to say but feel the need to say something anyway. The President went, like every other head of state, to try to get the Olympics for his country. It was awarded to Rio. Nothing else happened, and anyone who states otherwise is simply sniffing glue. And no matter what happened, the Republicans would be claiming that it is bad for Obama.
Also, this is excellent news for John McCain.
Prattlehorn
True. But start two wars you can’t finish in seven years, and everyone calls you a chickenfucker.
Robin G.
If only John McCain had been elected president, Phoenix would be hosting the 2016 Olympics. And you can bet it would be maverick-y.
joes527
Hereafter, America will be known as a country with no regard for international law, a country with no regard for the Geneva Convention, a country that tortures, a country that has n regard for treatie… hang on.
Ooops. That’s the last guy I’m thinking of.
The Moar You Know
Politico – the Fox News of the internet.
Napoleon
If Obama was suddenly in major league baseball and posted Ted Williams like numbers you would read endlessly in the press how he is a failure since 3 times out of every 5 at bats he ends up back on the bench and not on the bases.
JK
So much America hating from the wingnuts today
noquarterusa
Think Progress has a great video roundup of every wingnut asshole rooting against Chicago – Malkin, Bill Bennett, Dennis Miller
Mission Accomplished For Conservatives Who Rooted Against America
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/02/conservatives-olympics
RedState’s Erick Erickson immediately wrote:
John Cole’s favorite The Fonzi of Freedom Nick Gillespie weighs in on the Olympics
Am I Anti-American If I Hope That Chicago Doesn’t Get The Olympics?
http://reason.com/blog/2009/10/02/am-i-anti-american-if-i-hope-t
General Winfield Stuck
Does this mean that Obama isn’t the Messiah? Please don’t bust my bubble on that, I’m still recovering from the Santa Claus hoax. And don’t even want to think about all them plastic Unicorns/
neil
Now I understand a little more why the Republicans spent the last 8 years assuming that every Democrat hated America — because the only thing keeping them from hating America was the fact of the President’s political party.
Keith
This is one of those dictionary examples of political nihilism. By viewing everything through the lens of Dems v Repubs, they are now literally both rooting for and cheering the failure of the US as a whole because it would also mean the failure of Obama. Which they hope would lead to voters crawling back to the GOP so they can get rid of the death tax and double Gitmo, blah blah blah.
JK
Dan Riehl: “Next Time Send Sarah Palin”
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2009/10/the-obamas-olympian-defeat-next-time-send-sarah-palin.html
neil
They’re not anti-Olympics. They’re just on the other side.
The vast majority of this country – the great blue zone that voted for Obama – is clearly ready for the Olympics. The decadent right in its enclaves in the South is not dead – and may well mount a fifth column.
jaime
I loved the whole “Chicago is a dangerous slum, root for Rio” line of attack.
I’m starting to think Trigg is the brains of that party.
Napoleon
I have said this before and I will say it again, the right in this country fundamentally doesn’t believe in the philosophy this country was founded on or when you really get right down to it care about this country. They are a fifth column to democracy.
jibeaux
“politically wounded”, srsly? I can’t imagine people outside Chicago care that much about the Olympics. I haven’t actually heard anyone talking about it one way or another, and I’m including FB and twitter and water cooler talk. I’m glad Rio got it, myself.
SpotWeld
Lets roll out a hypothetical.
Let’s say Obama didn’t go out to pitch for Chicago. Let’s say he just did a press release and maybe a nicely edit video.
How much press would there have been for Obama “throwing his hometown under the bus”?
And, because he did step up, he’s shown that… he can’t influence the IOC. So what?
General Winfield Stuck
And it seems to me that the IOC actually made the choice for some right reasons. They resisted heavy insider politicking to give it to Madrid, and didn’t jump on the Obama international star bandwagon. Instead, they gave it to a country on a continent that has never had the Olympics. \\
Plus, ever body knows that Rio has some of the mostest beautiful babes on the planet.
SFAW
Not sure if I’m parsing your banter correctly (cabbage crates over the briny?), but it sound like the “them” in the sentence refers to the Rethugs.
If that’s the case, then you’re wrong Wrong WRONG!!!1!
They hated America then, too. It was Chimperor they loved.
Think of it – 20,000,000 man-crushes for the dork in the flight suit.
SpotWeld
Her name is Rio, and she dances on the sand….
Minionero
Obama took a risk by going to Copenhagen to lobby on behalf of Chicago. The risk wasn’t that he would lose “the prestige of his presidency.” It was simply this: if Chicago didn’t win the vote, hoards of media blatherers would claim that this was Obama’s personal failure and not merely a function of geography (US has hosted the games 8 times, South America 0 times) and internal IOC politics (the elderly former IOC president, a Spaniard, lobbied hard on behalf of Madrid, certainly moving some votes away from Chi-town).
JK
From Kevin Glass at Townhall
http://townhall.com/blog/g/f9f50d59-1115-4b64-a24f-74e023775eaf
gopher2b
The IOC releases voting counts after each round. Notably, Tokyo lost two votes even though it made it to the second round. Rio gained nearly 20 votes from round 1 to 2. So, either everyone that wanted Chicago to win went to Rio and two of Tokyo’s voters had a change of heart even after their favorite city won OR there was some gamemanship and Rio’s supporters were very organized.
I don’t think Obama had anything to do with that one way or another.
Kennedy
Time to add Olympicsgate to the long list of scandals in the failed Obama presidency.
cleek
Moran’s a fucking tool.
So are they all, all fucking tools.
PaulW
Of course the wingnuts were gonna crow that Obama is a loser if Chicago lost the Olympic bid.
And just as certain, the wingnuts would have whined about Obama wasting his credibility on something meaningless like the Olympics if Chicago had won.
It was a no-win for Obama no matter what. ‘Cause of Iron Law of Wingnuttery: “You can’t please assholes.”
licensed to kill time
Not to place my nasal apparatus to your posterior or anything, but this is why I love this site. Funny. As. Hell.
SpotWeld
This whole thing utterly flies in the face of the “It’s not America we want to fail, just Obama, just Sosalism”.
Well, Obama really had no skin in this fight, just America.
And I really don’t see anything Socialistic about international athletic competition (Jingoistic.. maybe, but that’d be pushing the point).
So.. cheering that Chicago, that America didn’t get the Olympic bid is both petty and proves the real underlying wish behind “I want Obama to fail”.
The collective Right has so utterly lost faith in thier own party that thier best game plan is for the Amercian standards of living decline to the point where the Bush presidency looks good by comparison.
Bush nearly made the Carter years look good…
kay
I’m not sporty, but does anyone who is see the irony in the media and conservatives promoting the idea that one should only enter a competition if there’s an iron-clad guarantee of winning?
In the context of the Olympics, no less?
The Olympics will be really, really short if we embrace this attitude towards competition, I must say. We can just wrap it up and hand out the medals to the favorites now, right?
neil
The wingnuts are objectively pro-Lula.
Catherine F.
Mostly, this is just kind of sad. How far have the glorious, triumphant wingnuts of yore sunk? This is their idea of an ideological victory?
jaime
“It was an unprecedented measure for a sitting President to go and lobby in-person for his hometown to win their Olympic bid. ”
Unprecedented, except for the other heads of state that were in Copenhagen.
PaulW
One other thing: does this mean the NewsMax Coup Plan is on again?
JK
Jammie Wearing Fool celebrates Chicago losing out to Rio
http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/10/ioc-rejects-obamalympics-on-first.html
Dan B
Weren’t these the same folks getting their panties in a twist that the President was going over to Denmark in the first place? There is always “reason” for them to complain.
MNPundit
It’s always striking when the difference between the reality they believe in and what actually happens is revealed.
General Winfield Stuck
@neil:
Poor wingnuts, every direction they turn, another soshulist is there to greet them.
Ben
I guess I fail to see the grand strategy behind “We rooted against America getting an Olympics, and we won! Vote Republican!” I guess nihilism for its own sake is fun, though.
Kennedy
If you think about it, Rio getting the games has spared us the inevitable alternative that a Chicago-win would have afforded us: the GOPtards crying porkulus and pocket-lining-crony-politics about the investments that would need to be made in order for Chicago to be able to accommodate the games.
slag
Nice!
LS
You know, I don’t remember there being a big fuss when New York didn’t win the Winter Olympics in 2005. Now, why could that be? Think, think, think.
licensed to kill time
@kay:
This is just another instance of Awards for Everyone!”
kay
@JK:
Conservatives “temper” anything? Yeah, right. That’s happening. That guy is a voice in the wilderness, and they can’t hear him.
Conservatives are the current definition of excess, in everything.
Obama didn’t just try and fail, he’s now a “pimp”. That’s how well they’re prudently and wisely “tempering” their response.
JK
Times of London with the most WTF headline, outside of Drudge’s “The Ego Has Landed”
Obama’s Olympic failure will only add to doubts about his presidency
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6859031.ece#
Dan B
Also, didn’t the freaking King of Spain show up to stump on behalf of Madrid? Does he have to abdicate the throne now?
Demo Woman
Glenn Thrush had an article that’s also in Politico
Quaker in a Basement
All events must be interpreted in a way that supports the existing narrative.
Chicago loses? Obama promised he was going to make everyone love America! He is a failure!
Chicago wins? Obama went hat-in-hand to a bunch of unelected, foreign bureaucrats to beg for the Olympics! He is a failure!
Obama stays home? Obama wouldn’t risk political capital on behalf of his own hometown! He is a failure!
Notorious P.A.T.
Did these same people talk about the prestige George Bush lost when New York failed to win the Olympics?
jl
Mr. John Cole is so naive. A Russian diplomat said that the US was still somwhat difficult to negotiate with and we did not declare a new Cold War, and now The President Has Lost the Olympics. Iran will obliterate us tomorrow due to this show of complete impotence. Muslins the world over anticipate our demise with glee. Any fool, not blinded by self hate and dhimmitude, can see this is true in a moment with simple, but strict geometrical reasoning.
Wolverines!
I’m gittin’ by shotgun. My trap shooting experience will come in handy when I have to mow down evildoers from all over the world who will be invading my town tomorrow at dawn.
My only fear is, Tunch, will Tunch be with us or against us?
smiley
Egypt Steve
So — you’re saying a 48-hour news cycle of John Boner and Newt Gangreench saying “bwahahahahaha,” is a *good* thing … ???? Just when — for example — Alan Grayson was starting to get some real attention kicking the rethugs in the nuts over health care, it’s a good thing to get that off teevee for a couple of days?
I agree the rethugs will jump on Obama no matter what he does or doesn’t do, says or doesn’t say. I will say, however, it would be better for him to be able to say, when they do: “fuck you, I got results.”
Unfortunately, this time, he can’t say that, and I’m surprised he went out of his way to walk into something where he didn’t know in advance that he would be able to say that.
The Grand Panjandrum
With each passing day I lean more and more toward hoping the Mayans were right.
CapMidnight
With our deep bench, I hope Obama persuades the Olympic Committee to add the “Behaving like 10-year old Children” event to the Games. I can smell the gold already.
SpotWeld
… and she dances on the sand.
Mike G
You know who else lobbied to get the Olympics? HITLER!!
Osama Bin Laden will now be emboldened to attack us!
Seriously, the press are nothing but a pack of stupid dogs who will bark all night at anything or nothing just because they love the roar of their own egos.
Calouste
@JK:
The formerly respectable newspaper The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
smiley
@smiley: How’d that happen?
licensed to kill time
@smiley:
I read that here .
JK
Newt Gingrich disses Obama
http://twitter.com/newtgingrich
Pugnant
Since there are clearly no real long-term consequences to this “loss” for Obama, (sure it will be an annoying couple of news cycles, some media hand-wringing about what it all means, blah blah until the next shiny object comes along), I am starting to think this may end up being a good thing – gives the WATBS something to smile about, you know, release some steam. I think I’ll go start warming up the bottle for them.
HumboldtBlue
@Kennedy:
Now that’s hitting the nail on the head. The headlines will last a day or two, but you can bet you littlest flying monkey that Malkin (with her new math), Beck and the ever-odious Hannity would spend the next eight years screaming about Chicago thugs getting money and ACORN being allowed to carry the torch and how it’s just a big scam by noted Chicago-style politician Obama to enrich himself and his friends.
Tom Hilton
The banner at the top currently reads “Ann Coulter – Free!” Depending on what they mean by ‘free’ that’s either a grave injustice or a terrible bargain.
gocart mozart
So the problem was that he “gambled” on something insignificant. You should only gamble if the stakes are really high but if the stakes were so low, how did he risk “the prestige of his presidency”? What a Moran.
Demo Woman
This is good news for Dave Letterman.
Macayla's Little Friend
And if Bitsy doesn’t get at least 2016 votes, impeach, convict and exile Obama.
/Bitsy is at 1756 votes.
PattyP
They’re not going to let him play their reindeer games.
kay
@Demo Woman:
They can’t shut up. Every fleeting, erratic thought must be expressed, and LOUDLY, no matter the lasting impression it might leave.
It’s clearly a failure, and it’s Obama, so he’ll take some responsibility for it. Is there any political gain to be had from crowing about it, other than “winning a cycle”?
Probably not, but they cannot control themselves.
jibeaux
@HumboldtBlue:
Plus the fact that they’d presumably root against all the American athletes.
jl
I heard an interesting interview with a US Olympic committee official this morning. She said they were conflicted about the advantages of hosting another olympics in the US, in the current economic climate. She said that cultural and sports activities have lost so much funding and support at all government and community levels, that resources were tight. Hosting another olympics drained resources needed to maintain programs that produce a population that actually engages in enough physical activity to produce olympic athletes that can compete.
She didn’t say this was her own view, so I assume she was expresing a common concern among the olympic committee.
I am not a big fan of the olympics anyway. This deserves a news cycle of about one minute.
The only goodish news is that the GOP from top to bottom continues to reveal itself to be a collection purely malicious nihilistic clowns, who try to impress the rubes with lots of sound and fury over trivia and empty symbols. And incoherently. Also.
SpotWeld
Can someone explain to Newt that complaining about Obama isn’t leadership either?
smiley
@HumboldtBlue:
Fixed.
Zifnab
Hey, just imagine the alternative. If we’d had McCain/Mooseburger in the White House, we could have looked forward to the President threatening to bomb Brazil while the VP encouraged her wingnut legions to boycott The Biggest Little City.
jibeaux
I think this merits quoting another great line from the Big Lebowski vis a vis nihilism, honestly.
ironranger
They loved George strutting around in a flight suit or with a tool belt slung on his waist. Manly, ya know? Me, every time I saw him on the tv, I thought he looked like he was walking around with a loaded diaper.
SiubhanDuinne
And no matter what happened, the Republicans would be claiming that it is bad for Obama.
I could draw up a little matrix about this right now.
In the first quadrant, Obama stays home from Copenhagen, Chicago loses. “He is so selfish and arrogant. If only he cared the slightest little bit about his country, he would have gone over there to plead Chicago’s case before the IOC. If he had gone, Chicago would have won and there could have been hundreds of thousands of good jobs created in Chicago, but does he care about jobs or the economy? NO-O-O-O! He hates America. The world has rejected him.”
In the second quadrant, Obama stays home from Copenhagen, Chicago wins. “He is so selfish and arrogant. If he cared the slightest little bit about his country and the city he calls home, he would have been over there to celebrate. But he’s jealous and can’t bear to share the glory with anyone else.”
In the third quadrant, Obama goes to Copenhagen, Chicago wins. “He is so selfish and arrogant. This so-called ‘win’ was just payback for his fraudulent, corrupt Chicago-style friends. No city ever makes money on the Olympics. This will bankrupt Chicago and it is all Obama’s fault.”
In the fourth quadrant, Obama goes to Copenhagen, Chicago loses. “He is selfish and arrogant and now Stinks with the Stench of Defeat — the world has rejected him.” Or what we’re seeing and hearing all over the wingnutosphere today.
(And none of this even mentions the idiotic idea that he was neglecting all the pressing issues at home or can’t conduct business on Air Force One.)
As I said to General Stuck in an earlier thread, poor old Obama just can’t win for losing with these jerks.
mai naem
Seriously who gives a shit and I personally thought it was kind of stupid of Obama to go but my reason is that it was kind of obvious it was going to go to Rio. It should go to Rio. We had LA,SLC and Lake Placid. Also too, the two in Canada. I have no idea who’s trying to get 2020 but my guess is that that will either go to an Asian country(India?) or the US. Does it not make sense that they go to a BRIC country?
JK
@Demo Woman:
Chris Matthews just wrapped up a segment on David Letterman.
jibeaux
When am I ever gonna learn about the soshulism? Why will this not stay in my head? I need a greasemonkey filter that will automatically fix it for me.
SiubhanDuinne
@Demo Woman: LOL. Now that’s a funny line.
Zifnab
Also, dude, when did everyone start hating on the Olympics?
I freak’n love the Olympics. You get a collection of beautiful people from around the world showing off in spectacular displays of strength and elegance.
Women’s volleyball. Women’s polevault. Women’s 400 Breast Stroke. What the hell is NOT to love about the Olympics?
SiubhanDuinne
@Dan B: And I think I saw that Japan’s new Prime Minister was there? So much for HIS new government!
gocart mozart
@General Winfield Stuck:
You would think that the Anti-Christ would have at least been able to pull this little Olympic thing off. If he can’t even achieve this, how the hell is he gonna handle Armageddon? What a major disappointment.
SiubhanDuinne
@mai naem: Um sorry, you’re forgetting Atlanta 1996.
danimal
OTOH, now that the wingnuts are anti-Olympics, maybe we can be spared the excessive “USA, USA” chant every three minutes during the Olympiad.
Don’t get me wrong; support our athletes, they deserve it. But the jingoistic excesses are sometimes embarrassing. I’m betting the Zenn diagram mapping wingnuts and excessive jingoistic approach to Olympian athletics is interesting.
Demo Woman
@JK: How about Ensign, it must be good news for him.
jibeaux
@mai naem:
Duh, in 2020 it will go to WASILLA REPRESENT!
Captain Haddock
@Zifnab:
Probably when the coverage became an almost, somewhat, just barely sports related version of the Today show.
smiley
@smiley: Imagine if there was a function I could use to fix what I fixed.
The Grand Panjandrum
Congressman Alan Grayson responds to the howling jackals happy we didn’t get the Olympic bid. Go to the 3:30 mark for the smack down. Jesus this guy is great.
The President was quite gracious in congratualting the Brazilians. Good for him.
Redshirt
At last, it’s cool once again to hate America. Come on out, DFH’s, we got some flag burnin’ to attend to!
JK
Lew Rockwell is happy
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/38016.html
Da Bomb
@The Grand Panjandrum: I heart Grayson!
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
exactly but what is worse is that the media play the game as well. they spent 8 years giving a pass to a President that was not popular and was fucking up and they have spent 8 months tiring every step of the way tearing a President who is popular and is doing his job. So exasperating.
Demo Woman
Newt must not read the news. Obama left yesterday after a full day of meetings, met with Mcchrystal and he returned today to speak with reporters.
What has Newt done for us today?
Surreal American
Path to Republican Comeback:
Phase 1: David Letterman’s sex life and Obama’s Olympics fail.
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Palin 2012!!!
JK
@Demo Woman:
It’s really good news for Mark Sanford.
kay
@Egypt Steve:
I don’t think he can play that game. He can’t play the 24 hour news cycle game with something big like health care, or diplomacy, really. It’s going to take a while, and the media have clearly shown us they have no interest in covering any long-term policy aspects. But that’s what they do. It’s not what he’s supposed to be doing.
He’ll be responding and responding and responding. That’s not a way to get anything real actually accomplished.
If you’re suggesting that he should set his schedule to gibe with one or another House member’s random comment that the media are currently focusing on, I just don’t agree.
He just has to keep going forward. Plodding, really. I don’t imagine it’s much fun, but there it is.
valdivia
@valdivia:
spelling fail.
gocart mozart
While I think it would have been cool to have the Olympics in Chicago, it seems more than fair for Rio to get it. The U.S. seems to host every other Olympics and I don’t think Brazil has ever hosted one.
Tonal Crow
@Keith:
The entire GOP is a dictionary example of nihilism, and not just of the political variety. They have found the Ring, put It on, and become Gollum.
JK
@Demo Woman:
Newt Gingrich is a lying sack of shit. He’s jealous of Obama because he knows he has no shot at getting elected president.
GregB
Limbaugh had his signature ‘America Held Hostage for _______Days’ during the Clinton era.
During the Obama era we should have:
The GOP, Praying for America’s Failure _________Days Running.
-G
Darius
Jeez, even Mark Halperin thinks the media’s overreacting to this. Mark Halperin.
anonevent
@Egypt Steve: He wouldn’t have said that if Chicago had won.
JK
@gocart mozart:
Neither South America nor Africa have ever hosted the Olympics.
Cool screen name. Love that Springsteen song.
r€nato
@JK:
No, he’s not anti-American. It’s not quite that important.
But he sure is a douchebag.
Seanly
Ya know if Bush had lobbied for Brushclear, TX or Silverspoon, ME to get the Olympics and “lost” these same asshats would write about how it is nothing but a diss of Bush and this only makes him stronger. Kinda like when the Dixie Chicks insulted him in London. In fact, he would be so strong as President that we should just finish junking the Constitution and name him Emperor for Life.
Wow, the Dan Riehl site is a bucket of teh stupid. Especially from the wingnut comments. I wish Dan had explained how Sarah Palin would’ve won the games for Chicago. Her untapped awesome negotiating skills?
JK
@Demo Woman:
Is this good news for David Brooks?
The Grand Panjandrum
Here you go, conservatives caught on tape celebrating the announcement that Chicago didn’t get bid.
Demo Woman
@The Grand Panjandrum: Thank you for the link. That made my day.
gocart mozart
@JK:
Irony is rolling over in its grave.
r€nato
Jesus fucking Christ on a cracker-flavored crutch, what a bunch of fucking drama queens. We’re not even close to a year into his first term and they’ve already turned it up to 11, ripped off the volume dial, and placed the speaker up to the mic so they can soak in the feedback.
Polish the Guillotines
@Egypt Steve: I wouldn’t worry too much…
Grayson is — at least so far — pure win.
Rathskeller
Reading the comments at different places commenting on this, it’s clear that they think Obama hates America, apparently because of all the apologizing that they believe he has done. Of course, I don’t hear him apologizing for any damn thing.
I would be fascinated to see the results of a national poll asking Americans semi-personal questions along the lines of: “Did your father ever make a mistake?”, “Were there ways that your mother could have been a better mother to you?” and so on, and ranking these answers with Democrats and Republican alignment. Because I hear Obama’s statements about America’s recent history as simple acknowledgment of an imperfect past, not as any kind of an apology. I wonder if they have the same hysterical assertions of immaculate perfection towards their own families, their own sainted mothers, etc.
Calouste
@mai naem:
Three in Canada (Montreal 76, Calgary 88, Vancouver 10). Although the Winter Olympics don’t count that much for global distibution because there are only 15 or 20 countries where they can actually be held.
anonevent
The true sign that Obama has lost prestige is if Repubs start whining less.
Zifnab
@Captain Haddock:
Haha. Wow, yeah, I don’t watch the coverage. Sweet baby Jesus god I don’t watch the coverage. Still, I think you’re missing the key point of cute, athletic girls in skimpy outfits thing here.
Surreal American
@anonevent:
FTW
Demo Woman
Think Progress has a new post up on the Olympics.. It appears that the new travel laws make it difficult to host the Olympics here.
Kennedy
@HumboldtBlue: Yep, exactly. We’d have to listen to prolonged screeds over the next 7 years about how William Ayers was profiting from the construction of the aquatic center/track & field stadium, and how ACORN funded the whole deal by killing babies. Also, there are black people in Chicago.
JK
Dijon mustard fetishist William A. Jacobson is upset by the blame game
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/10/we-lost-olympics-because-of-bush.html
Jacob Davies
From the NY Times:
“As President Obama pitched Chicago’s bid to host the Summer Games of 2016 on Friday — unsuccessful, as it turned out — he put his own credibility on the line as well.”
FOUR CITIES ENTERED!
THAT MEANS THREE HAVE TO LOSE!
mai naem
@Seanly:
Sarah Palin would have winked and told them “drill here,drill now”. Also too, she would have told them Rio was a continent that wasn’t ready for the games. And she would have had GWBush along with her asking her if she knew that there were black people in Rio.
wendell
FWIW, I was a high-involvement volunteer and am still active in OFA.
The Olympic Fail IS worse, for instance, than his (NCAA) brackets (which were pretty bad). But any sensible person could see that this was a frolic, unlike, for instance, the Geneva talks with Iran, or the Af/Pak strategy, which matter.
This, like the date night in New York, will be something that the noise machine will work itself into a frenzy about–until the next thing to work itself into a frenzy about comes along. The idea seems to be that maybe, just maybe, some people can be alienated from Obama with each of these–or that one will, in Frank Luntz’s assessment, get traction and actually drag opinions about Obama down.
(I’m dating myself here, but is Avery Brundage still on the IOC panel?)
Brachiator
@Kennedy:
And although most wingnuts probably think that all Brazilians look like supermodel Gisele Bündchen, there are actual black people in Brazil. Fortunately, they are all foreigners.
Palin would have quit half-way through the negotiations.
JK
@Brachiator:
Bingo
Midnight Marauder
I really don’t understand this line of attack about Obama “losing credibility” because the Olympics went to Rio. Besides the people who already hate him for just existing, I have not seen nor heard anything indicating massive sections of this country’s population are suddenly turning their back on the president in droves.
You know what would actually ruin his credibility, and has already demonstrated its ability to do so? Dropping the ball with HCR. Now THAT is something that can destroy a president’s credibility–no matter how popular they may be. And the fact that The Village can’t see that just indicated how far gone they are from actual reality these days.
The mindless cheering of wingnuts speaks for itself.
Zuzu's Petals
A-yep:
Also. Too:
Ed in NJ
It’s looking to me like the media and the right are overplaying this. There looks like a backlash starting already. At some point, I’m guessing at least some cooler heads started to realize that this looks an awful lot like Rush Limbaugh rooting for America to fail.
Of course it’s also the weekend, so maybe it just dies out quietly as people resume their lives.
gocart mozart
@JK:
1. Thanks JK, it may be my favorite song. Check out the Sringsteen/Songwriters DVD. He explains what the song means and how he went about writing it in his bedroom with a guitar and a rhyming dictionary. Did you know it was the first pop song to mention boob jobs, “silicon sister with her manager mister”. He also states that the reason Manfred Mans version went to #1 was probably because they changed the word deuce to douche.
2. John, why is this the only site that gives me the “Sorry, Network Has Timed Out” warning? I blame ACORN saboteurs trying to prevent us from reading the wit and wisdom of B.O.B.
Burning with stupid
All’s I can say is please please please do not let Drudge, Hannity, Malkin, Beck, Limbaugh, or Steele EVER come to Chicago for any reason. We on the South Side will ‘straighten them out’.
Fogeyman
You know who it’s reallygood news for?
Rudy Giuliani.
Fogeyman
You know who it’s reallygood news for?
Rudy Giuliani.
athena
The real skinny–not the wingnut fantasy–can be found here:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/ioc-member-it-wasnt-chicago-it-was-usoc.html
The issues were not Obama, not the Chicago bid itself. There were behind the scenes politicking, major issues with some decisions made by the US Olympic Committee, and a speech by the Brazilian president.
drillfork
@Zifnab:
Err, the politics? The corruption? The displacement of poor people?…
http://www.edgeofsports.com/2009-09-29-456/index.html
Aaron
the McCain position:
Obama is a young an inexperienced president whose failure can be attributed to his naivete. He should have imposed preconditions on his trip- he should have demanded that the Olympics be held in Chicago before ever agreeing to make such a trip.
The president, instead of standing firm, tried appeasement and failed. our nation is weakened and our enemies will be emboldened.
Clearly the president fails to understand that we are living in a post-Chicago Olympics world and the president’s actions have put all Americans at risk.
At this point there is no alternative but to consider our military options.
{All sing chorus: “Bomb, bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran” to the tune of the beachboys song.}
Montysano
@r€nato:
renato FTW. Soaking the feedback indeed. I can’t do any better than that, other than to quote the Doc: “Bad craziness”.
With that, my daughter and I are off to the local arts center for some dinner, browse through some old vinyl, listen to some live music, and not think about this circus of horrors.
Elie
It just plain does not matter.
Obama just handled it like an important but not earthshattering event. He knows and acted on the belief that it was about some games in his home city, about the decision to have like a county fair of sorts in his home city. He gave it the appropriate weight — he went, rooted for his city and country and then he went home.
He took the news the Rio was awarded the games with some disappointment — ya know, the kind anyone would feel when you wanted the fair to be awarded to your town and wasnt. He told everyone involved, I am sure, you worked hard, sorry it didnt work out for us, but there will be another time. Then he went home, had dinner, played with his kids and then will go to bed.
Tomorrow he will face a lot of hard policy decisions and work. None of it will involve the Olympics which have nothing to do with anything strategic…they are GAMES.
Life goes on, the sun will rise in the east and we are all still here…
Ho Hum Politico et al…get a life.
matoko_chan
Wow….IQ challenged.
Beijing 2008–asian like japan
London in 2012–anglo western like US
2016? I could have told you it was between madrid and rio…hispanics.
There has never been an olympics held in south america….so Rio!
Cake analysis unless you are a rightwing retard with an agenda.
Elie
Also —
The right blogosphere and moribund MSM — you can just see the claw marks deepen as their speed down the slopes to the abyss of complete irrelevance increase . The “issues” and emotion around their flailings, their lame agendas become more pronounced, more extreme and hysterical in tone and the claw marks become more frantic.
They know all the hype really isnt working to make Obama subservient to or afraid of them. Whether he succeeds or fails on any issue or policy, he is not afraid of them.
He went because he was telling them “fuck you”. Your glib and stupid interpretations have nothing to do with reality. I am going, I want to go and I am in charge of that decision. I will not be cowered by your bull. Go scream your petty interpretations to whomever. I didnt have your support before, don’t expect it now and dont NEED it —
He is driving them wild
SiubhanDuinne
@Wendell 5:57 pm
Hate to tell you but Avery Brundage died in 1975.
I know. Time just whups on by whether you’re having a good time or not.
MNPundit
@Zifnab: After China. A country arguably worse than we are.
Shell
I know…where to start?
Wine just shot out of my nose.
‘Blame’ seems to be something the wingnut universe is exclusively going into overdrive on. The sane world is seeing the IOC awarding a South American cite for the first time.
Got some examples of this ‘trash talk’, asshole? Hmm, like, torture is wrong?
Question: How soon until the Chicago Machine unleashes the goons on the IOC?…
I must admit, I’m stunned nobody has yet blamed Bush or Fox News. Give it time, though.
Seanly
@The Grand Panjandrum:
I realize that this has been asked many times, but why do conservatives hate America?
Mike in NC
Will “Wingnut Event Horizon” be added to the 2016 Olympic games? If so, will we let Glenn Beck carry the flag during the opening ceremony?
Ramsic
You moonbats are sure funny.
It doesn’t matter that the Olympics wont be in the USA, but it’s all the evil Republicans fault, cause they said they thought it was a bad idea.
Did the Rep’s protest in the street? Did they go on national TV decrying the attempt? Did they mount political campaigns based on being against the Olympics in Chicago?
No? And yet you would deny that the far more egregious acts of your own political allies had anything to do with the challenges of US troops in two war efforts. The lack of consistency on the left is truly breath taking.
So the mere opinion of the very few Rep’s who did speak on the economic foolishness, the mere opinions of the minority of those in the insignificant party, that was enough to sway the international IOC panel. Just like the insignificant party is blocking Obamacare and Cap and tax,,, Yeah. And it’s Bush’s fault your dog has fleas,,,
I so look forward to the day when liberals take responsibility for their own failures. Way way forward. Some day many millions of years from now. Haha, as if.
BTW, since none of the other heads of state have made themselves up to be the savour of the world, nor are any of the other heads of state the supposed leaders of the free world, yes,, that does make Obama’s failure one of losing face. Just like if any one of you twits got you azz beat and lunch money stolen by a 5th grader.
CalD
Thanks again for reading The Politico (so I don’t have to).
Surabaya Stew
In all fairness to Rick Moran, nobody has ever accused him of not having an itchy trigger finger when if comes to writing. That being said, he (and many others) are conveniently unaware of the fact that the leaders of Spain, Japan, and Brazil were all pitching their home team city at Copenhagen. What if Obama didn’t end up going? No doubt they would blame him for that too!
RadioOne
I would replace “sniffing glue” with “huffing glue” -but aside from that, your analysis is correct.
Sasha
The final takeaway of this brouhaha?
That the political right essentially admitted that it doesn’t want Obama’s policies to fail — it wants *Obama* to fail (and if that means that the nation goes to shit . . . oh well).
Rush was right the first time.
slightly_peeved
Apparently reading isn’t your strong point.
From my reading, the general view here is that it’s about time an Olympics got hosted in South America. Republicans had squat to do with it, as did Democrats, Liberals, Chicagoans, Obama, or many other Americans. An American city wasn’t going to win it, because they’ve had it plenty of times in recent years and South America has never had it. Sometimes, America, it’s not about you.
The commenters here, by and large, just find it interesting that Republicans have such a low opinion of their own country.
Oh, and no-one else in the world listens to Republicans anyway. Except for comic relief.
namekarB
The right had three responses ready.
1) Obama pitches for the Olympics and fails. We see what the wingnut response is to that.
2) Obama pitches for the Olympics and is successful. The wingnut response would have been he misused his office to benefit his Chicago buddies.
3) Obama does not pitch for the Olympics. The wingnut response would have been “He did not even try to bring the Olympics to the U.S. and has failed to do his job.”
Faced with the three probable responses it was wise to make the pitch. If he had succeeded, it would have benefited Americans.
GOP is a lost cause
Ramsic, your party, the real leaders of your party, cheered that the U.S. lost its bid to host the games. That image of taking pleasure in your own country’s defeat is sickening. Bringing up wars and other nonsense will not erase the revelation laid bare that the GOP really cares nothing about this country unless they are in power. That’s a cold, hard fact. Does the GOP really feel so powerless and miserable that the loss of their country’s bid to host an international event is seen as some type of morale booster? That’s how you all feel “lifted” and able to feel good about yourselves? Wow…..you all are in worst shape than I ever imagined.
wes
@wendell: What was wrong with Obama’s NCAA bracket? He picked the National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels to win it all, if I recall correctly (and I do)!
dwayne
and if John McCain had been elected, gone to Copenhagen and lost, every Republican would be screaming until they’re purple in the face, demanding that Danish pastries be called “Freedom Pastries,” etc.
Aviate
I’m not sporty, but does anyone who is see the irony in the media and conservatives promoting the idea that one should only enter a competition if there’s an iron-clad guarantee of winning?
In the context of the Olympics, no less?
———
It’s their attitude towards elections (when we win, we have a mandate; when we lose, you have to do what we say). Why should sporting events be any different.
Brick Oven Bill
We should remind the Republicans that they might have had the president in charge when the games were hosted in 2016
John Eden
Aviate, it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about finishing dead last.
I feel sorry for the Obama supporters. This was a huge slap in the face. The IOC seems to hate Obama almost as much as I do.
John Cole
@John Eden: They didn’t finish dead last. They were in the final rounds of the selection process. The vast majority of the bids never even made it that close. They finished dead last in the same sense that a team losing in the Final Four of the NCAA Championship finished “dead last.”
Do you people ever have the first damned clue what you are talking about? Ever?
scarshapedstar
He means the lives of American military personnel, right?
Oh… that’s not what he means. Huh. Well, I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree…