Critics: Obama's Olympic Pitch a Fool's Errand

It's really amazes me that the 2016 Olympic bid has become a referendum on Obama's governance. This was a bid by the UNITED STATES of AMERICA not just the city of Chicago. Was it a fool's errand to personally go to help the bid? Perhaps. I, like a lot of others, believe that the chances were slim at best anyway. But, this does not mean that Obama's presence caused the bid to fail. This is not Obama's failure, it is the USOC's failure. It is a failure of the US. For anyone to be happy that WE failed is borderline unpatriotic and shows the heart of the Republican party today: we don't care if we fail as long as Obama doesn't succeed. It's what Rush Limbaugh has said: I hope HE fails. But, if he fails we all fail. Maybe that point is lost in all the noise coming from the angry Right.

Robert of PA 3:00PM October 06, 2009

The US has hosted numerous Olympics while it's the first for South America. The President should have done some predeploymant research on this and should not have gotten down in the weeds on the Olympics. He has more important things on his plate to consider than wasting over a million dollars on two flights to Copenhagen, dragging the unbiquitous Oprah Winfrey along no less. His presence put a political thumbprint on what is supposed to be an apolitical international event. Carter made the egregious meddling error of cancelling US participation in the Olympics just to snub the Russians and it backfired. Obama has managed to accomplish absolutely nothing in the first nine months of his presidency and he seems to be preoccupied with image and style over accomplishment and substance. It is weakening his authority and influence. It appears that the purpose of the trip to Copenhagen was to trigger an avalanche of Olympic cash to the corrupt thuggery that runs Chi Town. Political payback Chicago style - Union contracts, the usual Chicago skim, insider advantages on building and catering contracts, monies diverted to pet projects. The Olympic Committee likely looked at all the factors - the awkwardness of POTUS on the beg, the systemic corruption, medieval crime in the city, and the lambasting of the USA as he prefaced his speech. It was quite a spectacle.

Galasso of SC 3:07PM October 05, 2009

9.8% national unemployment; 17% overall unemployment including those who have given up looking for work; 25.9% teen unemployment (40.8% among blacks); 12 trillion dollars national debt; additional cost of proposed cap and trade, and health care reforms - 1 to 2 trillion dollars; 1 in 8 US homes delinquent or in danger of foreclosure; GDP shrinking at 1% annually; dollar losing international prestige; 8 US troops dead yesterday in Afghanistan; US President is famous for talking down the US; high profile gang murder of a Chicago school kid circulates the world on the Internet. Perhaps all of this leveled the Olympic bidding playing field and gave Rio a chance. In the meanwhile the US had better get back to the economic basics that once made us a prosperous economic nation.

PhilPhat of FL 3:53PM October 04, 2009

Welcome Dave(ny) to the dumb comments club !you won entry to this exclusive circle by declaring the cuban missle crisis was jfk's finest hour .The truth is a tad scarier -his finest hour has to be a)when he said that he was not finished with a woman until he had had her three different ways ,b)when was tripping his arse off from the lsd-25 that he recieved from the Army/spooks /Leary then to his last(as in "late") girl friend Mary Meyer or c) the coke he had readily available.Speechless ?,yes -I was too .I guess we can say that there ain't no pony.Boo Hoo.

E.J. of RI 11:17PM October 03, 2009