2016 Olympics

[bukie]

chicago would've been fun. i'm just glad madrid didn't get it... europe doesn't need to be hosting the olympics every time.

 

and lol @ people saying this reflects poorly on obama. i guess it also reflects poorly on the other two heads of state that showed up and didn't bring home the games.

 

It's only LOL if you're an Obama sycophant that can't admit when mistakes are made. It's the US president doing something unprecedented and getting egg on his face. It doesn't reflect poorly on him as a person, but it's a miscalculation by the White House and a waste of political capital.

 

i think it's just unprecedented because the olympics have become massive business and now heads of state attend all the time. plus he's from chicago and there was extra pressure on him to attend; if he didn't go and chicago was voted out on the first ballot people (republican) would bitch that the city's most famous son wouldn't even take a day out of his schedule to support his city, while the other heads of state supported their nation, and the slight cost america the games.

Yeah, I think the only way the whole situation doesn't spin negatively on Obama in some way would have been if he didn't go and Chicago won the bid anyway.

[Outshined_One]

chicago would've been fun. i'm just glad madrid didn't get it... europe doesn't need to be hosting the olympics every time.

 

and lol @ people saying this reflects poorly on obama. i guess it also reflects poorly on the other two heads of state that showed up and didn't bring home the games.

 

It's only LOL if you're an Obama sycophant that can't admit when mistakes are made. It's the US president doing something unprecedented and getting egg on his face. It doesn't reflect poorly on him as a person, but it's a miscalculation by the White House and a waste of political capital.

 

That's true, though the magnitude can certainly be debated. I think this would quickly blow over for him, depending on how much the Rush/Oreilly/Beck/Hannity crowd tries to keep it alive articifically.

 

It was a no-win situation for Obama if Chicago was not going to get the Olympics. If he stuck to the original plan and only sent Michelle Obama over with Oprah, he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch. This was going to reflect poorly on him no matter what.

[Outshined_One]

chicago would've been fun. i'm just glad madrid didn't get it... europe doesn't need to be hosting the olympics every time.

 

and lol @ people saying this reflects poorly on obama. i guess it also reflects poorly on the other two heads of state that showed up and didn't bring home the games.

 

It's only LOL if you're an Obama sycophant that can't admit when mistakes are made. It's the US president doing something unprecedented and getting egg on his face. It doesn't reflect poorly on him as a person, but it's a miscalculation by the White House and a waste of political capital.

 

i think it's just unprecedented because the olympics have become massive business and now heads of state attend all the time. plus he's from chicago and there was extra pressure on him to attend; if he didn't go and chicago was voted out on the first ballot people (republican) would bitch that the city's most famous son wouldn't even take a day out of his schedule to support his city, while the other heads of state supported their nation, and the slight cost america the games.

Yeah, I think the only way the whole situation doesn't spin negatively on Obama in some way would have been if he didn't go and Chicago won the bid anyway.

 

Fox News would have found a way, rest assured.

[OleMissCub]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

[SouthSideRyan]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

Considering the other 3 were there(right?), I think he'd take flack. I still think he was better off staying home for the loss(especially being the 1st one out), than being there for it. The White House misread this, but then again so did roughly everybody.

[CubInOK]

Has anyone mentioned that Brazil is hosting the World Cup an 2014 and that might have factored into the decision?

[Outshined_One]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

Considering the other 3 were there(right?), I think he'd take flack. I still think he was better off staying home for the loss(especially being the 1st one out), than being there for it. The White House misread this, but then again so did roughly everybody.

 

That pretty much sums it up for me. You'd also see various right wing TV, radio, and political personalities foaming at the mouth about how Obama let his hometown and his nation down. Cripes, Glen Beck probably could have turned that into a two hour long special with at least 5 or 6 tearful breakdowns about how Obama not going to bat for Chicago personally means that we're slowly becoming a third world nation.

[Banedon]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

It's a new trend...leaders from host countries making a personal case. Both Blair and Putin did it in addition to the leaders of each of the 4 countries this time.

[TruffleShuffle]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

why? the other three heads of state went. our president never going just sends the message that we think we're better than everybody, which i'm pretty sure we're trying to avoid after the bush administration.

[SpongeWorthy]

Has anyone mentioned that Brazil is hosting the World Cup an 2014 and that might have factored into the decision?

 

That's quite the sports coup for one country in a two year window.

 

I think it'd be awesome if the US could get a World Cup in '18 or '22 and I'm a mild soccer fan at best.

[manbearcub]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

why? the other three heads of state went. our president never going just sends the message that we think we're better than everybody, which i'm pretty sure we're trying to avoid after the bush administration.

and our president going clearly sent a better message.

[Rob]

This was going to reflect poorly on him no matter what.

 

Unless we won, in which case he absolutely would have taken credit.

 

Does the loss reflect poorly on him? Absolutely... though how poorly is up for debate. Personally, I see it as a drop in the bucket compared to how badly he's made himself look failing to get his health care through.

[Outshined_One]

This was going to reflect poorly on him no matter what.

 

Unless we won, in which case he absolutely would have taken credit.

 

Hence why I started that post with "It was a no-win situation for Obama if Chicago was not going to get the Olympics." Even if he hadn't gone and Chicago got the Olympics, he would have taken credit for sending Michelle and having Oprah join her while remaining back in Washington to work on health care reform.

[cardinalsfan]

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091002/capt.e3ffbebb2530430e9ebe0ce2a1a743ef.brazil_2016_bids_xsi128.jpg

(AP) A Barack Obama impersonator poses next to a cardboard cutout image of Michelle Obama as Rio residents celebrate the nomination to host the 2016 Olympic Games at the Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Nearly 50,000 people erupted in celebration when Rio was announced host, jumping and cheering in a Carnival-like party on Copacabana beach.

[TruffleShuffle]

how many of those people were subsequently murdered?

[TruffleShuffle]

he would have gotten flack for not going over there personally to make a pitch.

 

would he have really? Going to bid for Olympics aren't things Presidents are expected to do, even if they are from the city.

 

why? the other three heads of state went. our president never going just sends the message that we think we're better than everybody, which i'm pretty sure we're trying to avoid after the bush administration.

and our president going clearly sent a better message.

 

i think it did. he spent long time in chicago, a lot of people from chicago and the midwest wanted the games and he went to lobby on their behalf, just as the other heads of state also went to lobby for their own nations. then chicago lost. i think it's better to have gone and lost than to stay home and lose, because of some silly notion that american presidents are "better than that"

[Magnetic Curses]

man, kidnapping and extortion and bazooka sales are going to be at an all-time high.

 

if i were a terrorist, and i'm not, rio would be a pretty easy place to do some damamge.

[Flames24Rulz]

"Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis and others for their brilliance and perfection." Michelle Obama (who was 20 years old in 1984 when Carl Lewis won gold).

[Guest]

"Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis and others for their brilliance and perfection." Michelle Obama (who was 20 years old in 1984 when Carl Lewis won gold).

lol

[Soul]

People will talk about how Obama shouldn't have gone for another day or two, and then it will be on to other things...

 

 

I think it was a miscalculation, but not all that big a deal in the long run.

[Mark Priors Calves]

"Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis and others for their brilliance and perfection." Michelle Obama (who was 20 years old in 1984 when Carl Lewis won gold).

Mackenzie Phillips doesn't know what's funny about this post.

[inari]

See who saves you from the Nazis the next time, Europe.

 

That's really all I have to add.

[OleMissCub]

haha, nice

[The Voice of Reason]

I'm giving Obama a pass and placing the blame squarely where it belongs - on the stumbling, bumbling, corrupt piece of garbage affectionately referred to in Chicago as His Honor, Duh Mayor. Who votes for this moron anyway?

 

Whose idea was it to let him try to speak? Good idea offending Brazil days before the vote. That worked out well. Daley sunk Chicago' s image back to the Capone days.

 

Look on the bright side. What would you rather see, endless pictures of Hot Brazilian women in string bikinis or endless pictures of Oprah's fat ass?

[Sammy Sofa]

I know what I'd rather see, but there will be plenty of hot trannies for you, too.