Olympics: Just a Reminder, Obama Wasn’t the Only One Who Lost Today
by Doug O'BrienIt is easy to feel a little melancholy on a rainy fall day in Chicago. Summer is indisputably over and, while our autumn is lovely, we know too well what is right around the corner. But today is truly a sad day in my city. Despite the potential political fallout of losing the Olympics let’s all remember that America and one of its greatest cities was repudiated. And that should not make any of us happy.
Chicagoans admit that we are ethically challenged when it comes to our politics. It is important to point out that in our business and other dealings we try to espouse Midwestern values and deal fairly with others. We are not proud of the reputation that the Cook County Democratic machine has won for us. And many are still trying to do something about it. But by and large, our distaste for local political habits in no way diminishes our love for our city, our state and our communities.
To my fellow conservatives who are deconstructing the implications of Chicago’s embarrassment at the hands of the International Olympic Committee and the indisputable damage it has done to the president’s reputation and image, I simply ask that you remember that there are millions of people in the Chicago area who are ordinary working people who take great pride in their community. All of us, conservative, liberal and independent, bid supporters and even bid detractors, are hurting a little today. We got embarrassed on the world stage as well.
Most people will never see their community host something as huge as the Olympic Games. For all the warts growing on the IOC and the games as they become more politicized and commercial, it is a spectacle I would have liked my children to have experienced in their home town. I would have loved for millions of visitors from around the world to have the chance to see first-hand what makes us love this city.
It is very valid and, indeed, important, to analyze what the IOC decision says about our nation and the president’s role in Chicago’s pitch. It appears to epitomize the simple-mindedness of Obama’s entire foreign policy. The administration seems to think that a combination of personal charm and endless talk can break down any barriers to cooperation and win everyone over to our side.
Never mind all the work that thousands of very smart and devoted people did to promote Chicago’s bid, Barack Obama will come riding in at the eleventh hour and crystallize everything in a way that no recalcitrant IOC member could fail to appreciate. His sheer magnetism will win the day.
Did no one in the West Wing raise his or her hand and point out that this is what they tried with health care? While Pelosi and Reid were fumbling about, with muddled messages and tired liberal tropes the prospects for far-reaching left wing changes diminished. The president had to take the reins and explain to these members of Congress and American people who just weren’t getting it, that they needed this reform whether they understood it or not. And the public reacted the same way anyone does when they are scolded by a patronizing know-it-all.
But I digress. The point I just want to make is that there are still a whole lot of good and decent fellow Americans here in Chicago who are bummed out this afternoon and will be for a while. Just as we must regularly remind Barack Obama that it is not about him, we on the other side of the spectrum must remember that as well. In this instance, in the rush to critique the president’s actions and their results, many people give short shrift to the millions who are disappointed by today’s IOC decision.
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213 Comments
Are you kidding me? I consider this a day of celebration. We not only avoided years of the most corrupt of the corrupt lining their pockets and funding their schemes, we saved everyone who has to travel into the city from the worst traffic in the history of mankind. If you've spent more than 15 minutes in this town, you are aware that we have some of the worst roads in the country (that happen to be under construction year round for my entire lifetime). Just imagine adding thousands of tourists and altered traffic patterns and you have the makings of a horror show.
Did I forget to mention the billions that would be misspent and eventually fall to the taxpayers to make up for? I haven't stopped smiling since I heard the news.
Too many tax payer dollars were going to go to line the pockets of crooked and dirty politicians if Chicago had gotten the bid. I'm sorry for you but happy for us, including you.
Oh please this whole thing was a setup for the Daley Machine to make money. You are NOT going to get any sympathy from the rest of the country…well maybe the coasts. Chicago is a MOB enterprise and you people keep voting in the thieves and then you want US to sypathize with your plight? spare us the drama WE get enough of that from The Won!
I am elated. Rio deserves it, and maybe this will be incentive to Chicago to change from its current status: rectum of the USA.
(Apologies to any Chicagoans who don't contribute to the rectum-ness of your city.)
Well I for one am extatic Rio got the games. Sorry for your loss Chicago but it was the Nation's first real win since the annoyted one took his throne. In my humble opinion the millions of us poor hardworking tax payers' money that was used(abused) by BO and his troop of cronies that was used for this trip should be repaid out of his pocket or the DNC..In fact we need to demand it get refunded immediately.
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I think it's appropriate to say that it looked to me that the only ones who would have made anything $$$$ off of the Olympics in Chicago would have been the principle thugs that went to Copenhagen, as well as every dirty developer in that city. The corrupt Daly machine lost (for a change) and on a light note :
Jesus won ……………..again !
(The giant statue in Rio)
I live int e Chicago area, and I am very happy that the IOC passed on Chicago's bid. If Chicago had won, it would have guaranteed that Richard Daley would remain mayor for life…Believe it or not, Mr. Daley's approval rating is below 50%. Chicagoans see the rise in crime, the continued deterioration of the schools, the joke that is Cook County governmenet, the highest sales tax rate in the nation and are finally "seeing the light". There has been intrenched corruption in Chicago and Illinois since well before the Daley family came on the scene. Dare I dream that "business as usual" in our local policitcs will finally change? Wait for Blago's trial….Maybe, just maybe, the dam will burst…..
Sorry Doug Amercia certainly wasn't "repudiated" by the IOC, Barak Obama was. And although Chicago may "try to espouse Midwestern values and deal fairly with others." it's long history of being "ethically challenged when it comes to our politics" would have continued to rear it's ugly head when it came to providing the infrastructure, goods and services, and other necessities of hosting the world at the Olympics. I totally understand "our love for our city, our state and our communities" but how would it feel to have it's dirty laundry aired on a world stage? One more point the IOC didn't embarass Chicago nor Obama his blatant, self serving, narcissistic attitude did that.
As somebody who has lived through the headache of living in a city while it's preparing to host the Winter Olympics, let me just say that while you're sad now, you'll be pretty relieved a few years down the road. Trust me.
No ACORN. No Olympics….What are Obama's Chicago friends going to do now? Guess when they invested millions to get this they believed they were making the "small investment for the big gain" BILLIONS. Taxpayers better start keeping a closer eye on the stimulus money that hasn't been spent yet.
I have great affection for Chicago despite its flaws, and I believe that the City won when it lost the Olympics: every city that has ever sponsored the Olympics has ended up with mountains of debt and huge, empty sports facilities to maintain. Just what Chicago (and our country) does not need right now.
The fact that Mr. O and Her Bitterness got slapped in the face is just icing on the cake!
Yeah, I'm crying a river of tears because of all the Obama cronies who invested in real estate hoping to cash in on the Olympics when the values skyrocketed. Those poor souls. They won't be able to multiply their investment by several factors. I may lose sleep over it. OTOH, I may just celebrate with a few beers and thank God I'm a Texan.
Amen, couldn't have said it better.
Obama’s only interest in bringing the Olympics to Chicago was payback to his Chicago pigs-at-the-trough cronies.
Hey, it didn’t work out for the nation’s Chief Narcissist and Chicago political community organizer aka ex-local Chicago Soprano.
The Olympics is a huge money loser. And, never mind that the organization itself is corrupt. The Olympic Committee and US coverage from China with its Useful Idiot and smary accomodation with the totalitarian Chinese gov’t was stomach churning.
Hello, media, we aren’t watching anymore.
Understood Doug. This reminds me of the piece on BH about not all of Hollywood being morally depraved. We understand, or at least I do, but it illustrates a large part of the problem. The few bad apples may not spoil the basket, but they certainly do spoil the perception of the basket. As long as the region is tainted by the Daley machine, the rest of the country will look upon it in this way. Not sure what the answer is.
And I'm not sure that Chicago was repudiated. Rio did have a good case. Never been to South America. A growing economy. And a time zone very close to the US. TV revenues still quite hefty. Tough to beat what they had to offer.
I don't know Doug. I haven't this proud of my country in a long long time. The Breitbart's and the Okeefe's and the Courrielche's of the world are making me proud again. Very proud.
Yes it should concern us that the world still wants to stick it to us. And why not? When Icelanders woke up one morning to find their pensions looted by the likes of the Goldman Sach's, Jamie Gorelick's, Franklin Raines' (Fannie & Freddie el al) of the world all fingers pointed in one direction…our fine US Congress. It doesn't take a genius to see how and where it all started. Bubba and Rubin should have halted the ponzi scheme back in 1999.
It's our fault. But we let them kill the messenger who tried to halt the madness.
But I regress Doug. The Chicago 2016 debacle did strike one positive chord. Thanks to FLOTUS I took a long look in the mirror and asked myself about what sacrifices I should be making for the kids of Chicago and the United States. And not unlike the First Lady sacrifices this week I too have made the tough choice to forgo Kobe beef and stick with filet mignon. It's brutal. But as throw another kiawe log on the smoker tonight I will be telling myself that it is "for the kids!"
Chicago WON–America–WON and Rio WON. The WH adminstration nor the llinionis Officials are interested in improving the lives of those in Chicago, the city could not afford it, this effort was about Obama. Unfornately, the citizens of Chicago are stuck in a meyhem or corruption which also now lives in the WH. I know all the wonderful people of Chicago feel thier prays were answered. Apparently, God, not Obama knows best
Posted this (late) on a previous thread but thought it would fit here as well.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae277/RAPH6969...
Keep all eyes and ears open–they will want their money back-somehow SOMEWAY
Allow me to express a sentiment that I have been holding in all day. Har de har har! But, of course, nothing personal, please don't send one of those roving Chicago crews with boards and pipes to bring me around to an Obama state of mind.
The reality is that hosting the Olympics has–for any host city–become a decadent orgy of Big Government urban "planning" and "renewal," Big Government-project taxing and spending, dislocating poor and politically unconnected neighborhoods, inconveniencing tens of thousands of commuters, and rife with the very corruption that I thought this site was dedicated to exposing and opposing.
Chicago will be better off for not hosting it, and I'm seeing many Chicagoans saying so on various places on the Internet.
I hope you're right about the Blago trial. I'd like to see the dirty laundry get aired out.
As a down-stater, I feel like we're the caboose on the Chicago freight train, and we have no say in what happens in this state. We just cover our eyes and wait for the crash.
(But I do like visiting the city – best skyline in the country.)
Nope, don't care. And by the way neither, did 45% of your city. The rest of America new exactly what this was, a political payback to the most corrupt city in the nation. Cry me a river about how Chicago's never ending murder rate, which is only surpassed by the seemingly never-ending train of indictments and perp walks of government officials, was suppose to wane once the city's pride was lifted by the IOC. That city, if it has any pride left, shouldn't. Right out of the box, the states junior Senator blamed President Bush, 'scuse me, maybe the IOC new, being a corrupt organization itself, and perhaps learning that very skill FROM Chicago realized, "you know if we give this to Chi-town, no one would leave with gold teeth, let alone gold-medals."
Right on! We are supposed to think about the "decent" people of Chicago and how they love their city? I bet those decent Chicago people are the same ones saying "Take it elsewhere!" They are the same ones that love their city so much to say "We don't want the leftovers and the DEBT!" Those are the reasons they are decent people living in Chicago.
Can you imagine what the buildings would turn into after the events?
Giant ACORN Brothels with SEIU organized pimps and hoes.
In another day and age, Americans would have been outraged at this slap in the face. Apparently, America is waking up, ethics has just become more important than some silly games. Americans saw through this, as a corrupt Chicago boongoggle.
Excellent column.
After my initial giddiness at the news that the Dear Leader took another pratfall, I reminded myself that this was more than just a failure of the Cult of Personality–it was a slap at the US.
Yeah, the IOC is reflexively anti-US, and yeah, the Dear Leader has egg all over His face, but it marks another example of the world defying a nation displaying weakness and indecision through its current POTUS. The world may not have liked us with W in the White House, but they sure as hell respected us.
Chicago is an American city. It is Americana. However, the political machine in Chicago resembles something closer to Cuba or Mexico in it's unbridled corruption. This corruption has spread to Washington DC, and has exaserbated the growing elitism in our capital city.
The Olympics are a money grab. You are far better off as a city without it.
Why does the world think that Obama is the best we can do? Surely, we have better people on the Conservative side!
We don't have any empty sports facilities to maintain. Then again, St. Louis's Olympics were 105 years ago.
Mr. O'Brien… WHO is hurting..? You mean Valerie Jarrett and her cadre of crooks ! You mean Bill Ayers who would gladly blow up and murder the police and certain politicians ! You mean Barack Obama who crossed the finish line holding an ACORN baton ? Chicago USED to be a great city…past tense, sir. I have spent a lot of time in Chitown, the art museum, the shoreline and at some of the best eateries…. as in the ribs at Carson's.
Americans are NOT embarrassed…. It is Daley, Obama, Moran, Obama et. al who BROUGHT embarrassment to this once great city. It is only you as a dweller who cannot recognize the failures and corruption of this city. The world knows and in the words of Rush Limbaugh…. YA GOT BIATCH SLAPPED ! Finally… It's over, my friend…
I think it would have been good for the US to have hosted the games. Could have marked a turning point in US-world relations. As for Obama, I'm as conservative as the rest of you, but like Doug I'm not delighted when our president takes a hit like this. He is still the president.
The Olympics would have absolutely destroyed an already bankrupt Chicago. Anyone bummed that the Olympics aren't coming to Chicago really doesn't have a great love for the city that they claim to. As Obama learned today, hype and fame don't make a person – or city – great. How about we get rid of all the corrupt leftist scumbags ruining the city and enslaving us all through taxes and soft socialism. Then we'll have something to be actually proud of.
My hometown of Milwaukee also dodged a taxpayer disaster. Chicago was already muscling us to help pay for their corrupt boondoggle. since we're already 5 years past the time our baseball stadium was to be paid in full, I was calculating a century to pay off these games.
"We are not proud of the reputation that the Cook County Democratic machine has won for us."
Perhaps not, sir. But if just a plurality of Chicagoans were truly opposed to the Machine, it couldn't exist. 34% opposed + 34% indifferent would be enough to get rid of the 32% corruptocrats.
I know the feeling, Dave….. I, too, downgraded to a prime porterhouse with a Smith & Wolensky au jus just to show support. Sure would have enjoyed that Kobe 8 filet this evening… Oh well…
fantastic and about time too isnt cowboy
I wonder, was this Olympic deal in Chicago part of Obongos Economic Stimulus Scam? Did he already have those numbers factored in? How many jobs has Borat the Magic Negro created now?
problem is the people keep voting these typs in just because their on the same ticket
Ummm…. ONE new job… I am selling pencils at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe in downtown Chicago.
I simply don't know where the money would have come from unless Oprah was going to pay for it..
Here is a little humor to brighten your evening…..
The Pope and Nancy Pelosi are on stage in front of a huge crowd.
The Pope leans towards Mrs. Pelosi and said,
"Do you know that with one little wave of my hand I can make every person in this crowd go wild with joy?
This joy will not be a momentary display, like that of your followers, but go deep into their hearts and for the rest of their lives whenever they speak of this day they will rejoice!"
Pelosi replied, "I seriously doubt that; with one little wave of your hand? Show me.
So the Pope slapped her.
It just keeps getting funnier and funnier!
First Borat gets bitch slapped in Copenhagen, now Robert Gibbs gets trounced by sweet old Helen Thomas.
Vallerie Jarret is probably still crying, Daley is probably cancelling the new beach house, what a sad day for all of the corrupt, rotten, immoral and politicians and their puppet masters.
I know she is old but sweet?
Two weeks ago, we ALL heard Jimmah Carter call US racists, now the senile silly sumbitch is trying to weasle out of it. He a pathetic lyng Jew hating rednecked peckerwood who has made a living out of his plantation racism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV5ZN6Ishw8
Boo hoo
I have to be honest. I am ashamed that Chicago is even part of the United States.
Listening to this fiasco on the radio this morning was an absolute treat. Rush was playing clips from the propagandists spinning this slap in the face of obama and they unintentionally eluded to what many have believed from the start regarding this political neophyte. The liberal airheads were braying about how it was the Chicago mob bosses aka democrat politicians made obama go and grovel in Copenhagen because Valerie Jarrett (sp?) wanted to profit from the games through real estate that she could unload on the city at inflated prices.
What the leftwing media made clear is that when obama’s puppet masters tell him to dance he dances. He is the Manchurian candidate. And again obama shows that he doesn’t care about the nation at large, he cares about paying back those that put him in power. A real American President would have lobbied to have the games in a third world city, such as Detroit, which would have brought an economic windfall and employment opportunities for a city that’s regressing faster than modern day liberalism.
The triumphant Obama returns home, appears on Letterman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvQScRuZj9s&NR...
I agree completely. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics is HUGELY in dept and as a result programs of all sorts and merit are be cut back or nixed altogether. All to pay for a party for the IOC, one of the most corrupt organizations on the planet. Chicago lucked out.
What was Obama thinking? Evidence of his incompetence piles higher every day.
Better be careful, Ben. You'll learn that sentiments like this are not welcome around here.
I remember during the Cold War sitting in the second car of a line blocked so Mikhail Gorbachev's procession could exit Andrews AFB for it's ride from Suitland to the Whitehouse. What struck me was intense disgust/shame that the leader of our enemy (at the time) was going to be driven down the Suitland Parkway through some of the worst housing projects in DC.
That was the exact thought I had again when it looked like Chicago would be "the" city representing all of America if we won the Olympics. I've normally got nothing personal against Chicago or any of the other cities in our nation ruined by extreme liberalism as long as I don't have to be there. Or especially if they're not being seen worldwide as representative of America. In this case it was a win/win. TOTUS was shown for the political lightweight he is and Rio gets the world's cameras.
Chicago, clean up your act and I'll support you next time. Otherwise, your loss is our collective gain.
I've got one more possible reason for the failure to win the Olympics for Chicago; maybe the "amazingly consistent smile" used in so many recent photos just didn't do the trick…
http://tinyurl.com/ydgfa54
As a Chicagoan who currently resides in Los Angeles I feel relieved for Chicago for all the reasons you just mentioned. We dodged a bullet.
ok, now I am torn. Once upon a time, this would not have happened. Now those days are gone. Yes, I celebrate. Yes, it is sad that the U.S.A. was b$%$h slapped. Thank God I am free enough to feel this conflicted!
I'm guessing you've never been there.
It is because I care about the good people of Chicago that I opposed the Olympics there. They do not need to be eaten alive or be crushed under back-breaking taxes. I hope this loss is the beginning of the end of the Chicago political machine and Chicagoans can regain their city.
I have lived in two major cities (Chicago and Los Angeles) and have visited many others. There isn't a major city in our country that is NOT "ethnically challenged."
Look at the headlines here on Big Government:
Another Stimulus needed
Jobs report staggering
Dems fighting Repubs over healthcare
Obama Admin Indescisive
With all taht going on, Mr. Zipperhead is gallavanting about the globe like a Harlem Globetrotter embarrasing himself and US.
Good lord, Meadowlark Lemmon could have been a better Presidente' than this khaffir.
Look at the headlines here on Big Government:
Another Stimulus needed
Jobs report staggering
Dems fighting Repubs over healthcare
Obama Admin Indescisive
With all that going on, Mr. Zipperhead is gallavanting about the globe like a Harlem Globetrotter embarrasing himself and US.
Good lord, Meadowlark Lemmon could have been a better Presidente' than this khaffir.
That's a great point, Sanmon! The IOC is every bit as corrupt as the political machine in Chicago. There would have been a feeding frenzy if Chicago got the bid.
Doug,
As much as I can appreciate your concerns for your city, I can also tell you about some the ugliness of your city that you have most likely never experienced. If your love for your city is so great, then I ask that you choose to make it great by cleaning up the corruption and the troubling crime rates. I've been in the areas of your city that can develop your pride. I have also been in and dealt with the parts of Chicago that are a black eye on America.
I could tell you story after story about all parts of "The Big Windy". As the conservative morals would say, "Build respect by earning it." That part is up to people like you to take part, take hold, and take back your city to make it something worthy of anything but the corruption it has become so well known for.
Khaffir , huh? Why don't you just use the N word and get it over with.
You're a charming bunch on this site.
Congrats, Rio!
I am jumping for joy. Valerie Jarrett had already had talks with H.U.D. about funding the Olympic Village. Every American for generations would have been enriching Oblabla's Chicago thug Daley bunch friends, in multi-million dollar real estate scams for the Olympics.
I would like to see a link or a source to Valerie Jarrett's talks with HUD. If true, this would be a nice complement to the odor of corruption wafting heavily over the Administration. Please, do provide the source.
Go RiO!!!!!!! What a bunch of malarky! The only ones who would of profited from this were the crooks in Chitown: Daley machine, Valerie Jarrett, crooked union bosses, Opra and the guy who is trying hard to unseat Jimmy Carter as the worst president of all ime!!!
I just cannot wipe the smile off my silly face. I went to bed last nite with a prayer on my lips and this morning my prayer came true..now one question I wonder if the sad left is going to call the IOC "racist?" whatever..who cares this is such a swell day for the USA..We know what a looser we have in the whitehouse now the whole world is real clear about it. Demanding a refund of the tax dollars used for this worthless trip. Going to the whitehouse site to see what dribble they have on it today LOL
Pretty racist, sn't it? "They" can call "themselves" whatever they so desire. Yet "we" are limited in our vocabulary because of what "they" might think.
Let's ALL be honest for once. It is about race. Jimmah Carter said so, and "they" started it this time, for the last time. Your race card doesn't work anymore. You have ZERO credability, just like "your" President.
Kiss my ass.
I've always thought he had such a fake smile. I grew up around con artists and so I've been able to smell them a mile away my entire life – Barack reeks of it.
The funny thing is that I've heard people, confronted with his practiced smile, who still say it is genuine and warm.
It amazes me how delusional people can be.
Here is what the World thinks of Obama now:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/1536...
Mmm, mmm, mmm. Humpty Dumpty takes a great fall.
The image of President Barack Obama as King of the World folded like the proverbial house of cards today.
And when it folded, it folded on the well-lighted world stage.Obama took a big fall and not even Michelle, Valerie or Oprah can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Why is this such a big shock to the Main Stream…..I mean, the Fringe Media? This president has done nothing but go around the world and tell them that the U.S. sucks…so the Olympic Committee is going to reward us with the Olympics? My my my, it is just so sweet how this man's words always come back to haunt him. It's just too bad that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and the New York Times can't bring themselves to face reality and actually report the facts.
Does this mean that the IOC is racists?
This is just too delicious, apparently Hillary flashed the "L" for loser when asked about her thoughts of obama not getting the Olympics.
Someone at Hotair commented that [para] this is what you get when you mock the Special Olympics. Karma, whata bitch.
The picture of Chicago politics is showing up in Washington politics. Chicago will have to take it's lumps for the mess that is the corruption that is Chicago. NY cleaned their act up, so when Chicago cleans theirs up, we will be right their with you. The spotlight is on Chicago and will stay there for the next 3 years. Ethically challenged? Not even close. Until the people of Chicago take out the garbage, it will stink up the city. Chicago could be a great city. Nothing against the folks living there, but the mess is there – it's not going away at the hands of those not in Chicago. And we don't want that stinking mess in Washington either. So we are going to clean the house. You should do the same.
Yep. Thats what senile old Jimmah Carter said…….
Boo Hoo, Booo Hoooo, Ha Ha Bitch slapped!!! Yippee
That shoe print on Obama's forehead will take a while to go away. Not that he just lost the bid, but in the first round. I guess they didn't sacrifice enough.
Ethically challenged? Is that anything like corrupt and dishonest? Chicago, Cook County and Illinois…in that order, needs some SERIOUS cleaning up. By any means necessary, the end justifies the means. It's for the children.
Hillary still wants his job.
Let's hope that this is the first of many and often events deflating King Obama and Her Highness's arrogant, self- absorbed attitudes.
God bless the USA
Miss "O" didn't even pay for the cars she gave away a few years ago and never gave credit to the car company that donated them.
!GAAAAAAAAAAAG! Please shoot me now.
I agree that this is the BEST thing to happen to Chicago! I've lived here all my life, I'm not just pontificating about this, I know it! Praise God that the Int'l community could see what a corrupt process this would be! I did a post about the rally and the aftermath of this shilling, go have a look! Chicago did NOT WANT it here, and we got our wish.
Oh that was great man I am dyin that was terrific
Thanks for posting the Canada Free Press article. Great piece!!!
I'm sad for the people of Chicago that they won't be hosting the Olympics. It was an awesome experience when it was in Atlanta. I find this story funny because Obama did think that he could just ride in with his compelling personal story and win victory. I hope that he's beginning to figure out that real people don't care about your compelling personal story; they just want substance and results.
Oh wow you mean he was called a bad word! OMG what is becoming of America? Where is the civil discourse? Save ua Obama! I cant afford my mortgage, save us Obama! I lost my job. Save us Obama! I dont have health insuance! Save us Obama! MMM…MMM…MMM!
Des,
Excellent observations and Rio deserves its win. I shudder to think how much Chicagoans and the rest of us would have been hit in extra taxes, huge traffic hassles and an ongoing saga of corruption scandals for next eight years. I note that in spite of the lies of Daley et al, Montreal has only just paid off its debts for 1976 Olympics, 33 years of grief and tax hell. Enjoy the visit to Rio, Des or watch it on the Internet. Well said, mate.
.
LMAO. Hey, he's PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, not Mayor of Chicago. There are REAL problems here at home. Unemployment anyone? Not to mention the brave men that are dying in Afghanistan while he wrings his hands about what to do. WTF was he doing over there in the first place!? Hey, we all thought Carter was bad….
It would have been great for the city IF there was not so much corruption behind the scenes. People that supported Obama stood to make millions while the normal middle class and upper middle class would have been stuck paying for it for years to come with higher taxes.
It is better for these folks in the long run
NOw I understand what Michelle meant about her and Oprah and Barak sacrificing for this effort. She sacrifriced her dignity, her intgrity and whatever plitical capital was left with the McCain, McBush and all other Mcmoderates they conned into electing this fraud.
I'm from Chicago and I'm absolutely relieved that we didn't get the bid. Daley and his government are running the city into the ground financially. It's so bankrupt that they are selling off the infrastructure (parking meters, etc) just to keep paying yesterday's bills.
If Daley had gotten the bid, it would have set off an orgy of spending and corruption such as this city has never seen. The government would have run roughshod through neighborhoods displacing residents and tearing down perfectly good housing to build useless oversized Olympic facilities that the city could never afford to maintain after the games and that would have no tenants. The cost overruns would have swamped any potential profits and we would emerge from the games in a state of financial ruin.
Chicago needs to focus now on becoming a financially stable city. The Olympics would have put aside any attempts to bring the city budget under control in favor of a wild spending spree that would take decades to recover from.
Newsman Andy Shaw made an interesting comment on the radio following the announcement. Apparently the rumor is that all of the construction contracts for building the olympic facilities had already been secretly divided up among Daley supporters. They couldn't even wait for the announcement to finalize dividing up the loot. They weren't even interested in pretending to have a bidding process. The fix was in for months.
The Daley administration richly deserved a slap in the face.
One thing i have to say that the IOC folks know how to use their votes, but we were not!! We were fool once for the whole world to see on our votes, they didn't want to follow the mistake that we'd made. So, don't get fool again!!
i happened to be up til the wee hours of the morning and caught the live presentation by the "Chicago" team. i knew when it was over that Chicago did not have a chance. the presentation was elementary. the speeches were dull and overly rehearsed. Stiff is a good description. Mayor Daley was introduced as "honorable" – at which point i spit beer all over my coffee table.
and……then came the FLOTUS. telling the IOC how much Chicago meant to her and her family. she talked about her father's battle with MS and got all choked up. not making light of her father's illness, but i don't see the relevance between her father's illness and the olympics. the came the POTUS. more of the usual – "I", "my" etc. talked about his daughters and how chicago was his adopted home. blah, blah, blah. i wonder if it ever crossed their minds that the IOC was not all that interested in what Chicago meant to the Obama's. The IOC wanted to know what the city of chicago was going to do to for their games. nobody in that room gave a damn what chicago meant to obama. they wanted to know, "what is chicago going to do for me?" the arrogance got in the way of answering that fundamental question.
POTUS, in all his arrogance, managed to get a little dig in aimed at Bush and America's diminished image around the world. Un-frickin' believable.
Chicago tolerates the political corruption and squalor. No one in their right mind would put the Olympics or anything of significance there.
Yet another peurile, failed attempt at organizing the world community.
Mr Obama, world politics is not a street rally.
I *personally* repudiate Chicago. Any who think Chicago is representative of America should go check out Memphis. Then they will be REALLY impressed with our country and culture. Oh, and make sure you leave the tourist path to take that look while in those cities.
Chicago is a beautiful city! It would be more beautiful if the dead did not vote and….
Thanks for giving me a good chuckle!!
I spent a week in Chicago. Hummm, wonder why I never went back!
GOD works in mysterious ways!!!
This is sooo funny…God bless the Pope!
The "O" in Obama's name actually stands for "zero."
Wow, Common_Man, watch that spelling! Was that a "Freudian" slip? Too many races for you? Just kidding, I'm sure you just had a typo…
That's pathetic. Get a good night's sleep and try again tomorrow.
Hope you didn't waste a lot of time on that.
Our country cannot withstand another financial onslaught either now or within the next seven years. The cost associated with an Olympic Games is atrocious and we can NOT afford to drag this country down further. If the Chief Executive truly wanted the country to host the games in 2016 he should have made this part of his platform last year. His last minute run to the committee seems an insult to that august body and they knew it was simply another attempt to refocus the world on the man AND his spouse who are too egocentric for many Americans. Chicago is spared the embarrassment of showing its seamier side to the world and this can serve as an opportunity to pull the people together into a clean up campaign to stop the murder of innocent honor students and the rest of the ugly politics that go on in that city. It has been rather a soap opera to watch and it needs to stop, NOW!
Are you the same Hucbald that was/is over at LGF?
Maybe if the First Family would have pitched the IOC about how great Chicago would be for the Olympics instead of how awesome the First Family is, they would have come in 2nd. But NOOOOoooo they placed last. Thanks for nothing Mr President.
Chicago. IOC crooks meeting Obama's crooks. Opposites attract, the same charge repels. Corrupt people who control the IOC robably figured they could line their pockets more by letting Rio have the games.
HAHAHAHAAHAAHAAAAHAAAA(deep breath)HAAAHAAAHAHAHAHAHHA(help, can't breath)HAHAHAHAHA
With all due respects, Chicago is the armpit of America. High crime, disgusting corruption, a cesspool of a political "players" who are trying to fill their pockets with taxpayers money. Ugh! I can't blame the Olympics Committee for turning it down. Barack Hussein Obama is a legend in his own mind and has started believing the left wing media BS that is printed about him. What a rude awakening and long overdue. Now get to work, BHO, we need a Leader, not a Community Organizer.
looks like some chicago boys are crying tonight—no kick backs and under the table stuff. less not forget the second coming himself, he lost millions on this one. OH YES WE CAN……
well vote for them in 2010
The best solution for Chicagoans is to just kick all the Democratic bums out of Chicago, including Daley and his cronies. The GOP of Illinois need to find a better leader – someone similar to Rudy Giuliani – to become the mayor of Chicago and end the era of Daleyism for good.
Obama sees his primary work as 'giving back' to his friends in Chicago. This Olympics thing was supposed to make them rich beyond even THEIR dreams. Tooooo bad.
Also. Last Year Obama deeply insulted the Queen of Great Britain by giving her an ipod loaded with his speeches. Well, the Queen's daughter is a member of the IOC. I really really hope Princess Anne had something to do with Obama's slapdown!
Thank God, justice was today served upon the "blessed" few people who lead this country, politically and TV-wise. HOORAY, RIO!
HEY, lphillips…………I LOVE your post and am doubled over laughing, too.
There will be some unfortunate casualties in our fight to rid this country of this soft tyranny. Chicago is a fun and gorgeous city. The sleaze bag politicians there do not need any more greased palms at the expense of the citizens. It's not like there won't be more olympic games to bid for right? The do have the mighty Oprah who's a huge cash cow and don't forget The Magnificent Mile of overtaxed goods and services. Chicago did not lose today, they lost years ago because of the corruption.
Hey – I'm from Milwaukee and we would have frankly been the biggest winners from a CGO Olympics. I'm sad for that but I'm frankly happy for America. Having this numbskull OBumble exposed on something as mild as the Olympics hopefully wakes more people up on truly important issues like Iran. America-haters are rubbing their hands over OBumble and they "fortunately" exposed themsleves in this (unexpectedly) secret vote…….out on the first vote for goodness sakes!!! Our narcissistic, linguini-spined, America-apologizing, amateur-hour president is now on full display!!
BRING ON THE 2010 ELECTIONS TO TURN THE TIDE AND HELP STEM THIS MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have. Stayed at a hotel right of of Pulaski.
You'd do better to face the truth…
Interesting comparison on Hannah Miles and James O'Keefe.
I see today the District Attorney in New York who broke the letterman case, had two meetings, which were audiotaped. They were taped to catch an accused criminal attempting to extort and embezzle monies from the fine, upstanding Mr. Letterman.
Now then, if a DA in New York can audiotape a criminal, in the midst of a purported crime, then why can't Hannah Miles and James O'Keefe use a video camera, to record ACORN members suborning criminal behavior. Why the double standard? Why hasn't anyone else seen this distinction?
You've got to be kidding me. The O man got bitch slapped in public on this one. Shows his immature and self centered platform. I live in Atlanta, and have for 25 years. The city STILL hasn't recovered from the expenses of putting it all together for the Olympics here. I'm of the opinion that the Prez's failure to bring home the bacon (pun intended) actually saved BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars while depriving Jarrett, Daly, et al a true southern barbeque of pork paybacks. Jarret's got to be crying in her beer right now.
Richard Simmons/Mr O man rides to the rescue again for our great country. I can't even look at him on TV anymore without visualizing the pink and yellow leotards and prancing attitude. I actually think that justice was served to the Prez today, and we the proud people of America got cut to the quick by a two edged sword.
Those were rhetorical questions, right?
Or are we doing Helen Keller jokes?
Pardon my snippy, it has been a LONG week…let's see, one group has taken the fight against corruption to the gates…and one group wants to look like they're doing something worthwhile…
The dude should have just written the book, and screw the larceny….
Those were rhetorical questions, right?
Or are we doing Helen Keller jokes?
Pardon my snippy, it has been a LONG week…let's see, one group has taken the fight against corruption to the gates…and one group wants to look like they're doing something worthwhile…
The dude should have just written the book, and screw the extortion and larceny….
Anybody who is happy that the US didn't get the Olympics, is simply UN-PATRIOTIC!!!!!
I do not revel in Chicago/America losing the bid, however….Obama, Obama and Oprah made this about themselves and should suffer the embarrassment, they surely would have claimed the victory.
Chicago never had a chance, Obama was played. Do you think the IOC who is well known for the Bribes they get would share with the Chicago machine?
We have alot to be thankful, a gift from Obama who has done more to unite people in this country than any president in recent memory. Were it not for Obama we would not be considering the biggest reform of our helath care. We would not be considering the harm we a doing to the environment. We would still be keeping the labor unions in check. There is so much we can be thankful for. Thank You Mr. Obama, you alone have done more to inspire and unite peole. You have succeeded in touching people in such a way as to awaken a nearly dormant sense of community and compassion. You have made people get passionate and engaged as never before. Thank you for the gift of UNITING THE SLEEPING CONSERVATIVES WITH YOUR TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS POLICIES AND INCREDIBLY INEPT ACTIONS> NO ONE BUT YOU COULD HAVE BROUGHT OUT THE MASSES IN SUCH A SPONTANEOUS WAY> Tahnk you Mr. O, you are the man!!!!!!
Sorry Darlin'.
Not Un-patriotic. The word is realistic. WE, saw through the sham. WE value ethics above profit and corruption.
So call US racists, call US bigots, call US homephobes. You can even call US the vast right wing conspiracy.
Just don't call US unpatriotic.
That would be in violation of the Patriot Act, and would warrant you report US to the Department of Homeland Insecurity.
Yes, they were rhetorical questions.
From the Department of Redundancy Department.
Believe me the IOC did the regular people of Chicago a favor when they gave the Olympics to Rio. I live on Vancouver Island and was excited when Vancouver got the 2010 winter Olympics but that has changed. Despite all the promises of the organizing committee things are over budget and taxpayers are taking the hit. All these jobs that are being created are going to companies from outside the area; busing is being supplied by companies from Texas,companies from Alberta getting contracts while local companies are left out in the cold. VANOC has asked businesses in downtown Vancouver to force people to take their holidays during the olympics to reduce congestion in the downtown area. Just try to get tickets to an event,what a joke,you have to enter an online lottery for the few that are left after the "dignitaries" skim off their choices. I'm sure that working people from Salt Lake could tell you the same stories. All in all the IOC did regular people of Chicago a favor no matter how the spinners try to tell it.
Brazil deserves the Olympics because it's a nation on the move. Viva Rio! Until we cut the federal government by 90%, including wiping out regulatory agencies that prevent us from manufacturing, we're done. No one can innovate, invent, or DO anything without chancing federal prison for failure to properly fill out forms. Taxes kill. The currency will free-fall. All politics is corrupt all the time. In the time of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, corrupt politicians were elected to Congress and nothing has changed, except the SIZE of government, therefore more corruption, negativity, nonproduction, anti-production, wealth-sucking, and just plain stealing. I love the name of this website!
The IOC could see how corrupt the Daley Machine is. I don't think they like dealing with MOB bosses. You Atheist bottom feeders in Chicago are the Saddam and Gomorrah of the 21st century. You have murders everyday and you just walk on by. You have criminals running your city and you close your eyes. You give us Barack Hussein Obama and you clean your hands. I spit on your worthless souls. Burn in HELL! MARXIST=DEMOCRATS=TERRORIST All the same Ask the Criminals running Chicago.
Gee Doug, I am at a loss….but not like what the taxpayers stood to loose if the games were held in Chicago. I am still laughing after NO-Bama made a fool out of himself.
Listening to this fiasco on the radio this morning was an absolute treat. Rush was playing clips from the propagandists spinning this slap in the face of obama and they unintentionally eluded to what many have believed from the start regarding this political neophyte. The liberal airheads were braying about how it was the Chicago mob bosses aka democrat politicians that ordered obama to go and grovel in Copenhagen because Valerie Jarrett (sp?) wanted to profit from the games through real estate that she could unload on the city at inflated prices; not to mention other crooks such as Daly that would have criminally profited.
What the leftwing media made clear is that when obama’s puppet masters tell him to dance he dances. He is the Manchurian candidate. And again obama shows that he doesn’t care about the nation at large, he cares about paying back those that put him in power. A real American President would have lobbied to have the games in a third world city, such as Detroit, which would have brought an economic windfall and employment opportunities to a city that’s regressing faster than modern day liberalism.
I lived in the Chicago area while in the Navy – I think the best phrase to describe Chicago was used by Sir Alec Guiness (as Obi wan Kenobi) in Star Wars.."Chicago: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious".
As corrupt as it's politics are, Chicago has no monopoly on sh*tty politicians. Blaming the average Chicago citizen for electing scumbags would make about as much sense as blaming you for electing Obama.
I'm a former Chicagoan who now resides in the suburbs. Overall, I'm happy Chicago didn't get the games but I wish we had made it past the first vote. The nastiness of the whole charade was a slap in the face.
The last thing Chicago and IL needed was more debt. Furthermore, any hope of ethics/political reform would have been completely lost as it would have been a bonanza for the political insiders and their corrupt back-room dealing. We can't even get our politicians to cut waste and fraud when the government is broke.
I do feel bad for the people who put so much effort into bringing the games to Chicago; I'm sure it's very disappointing. However, I saw a study by economists regarding hosting these mega-events and the enormous costs yielded few tangible benefits except for a boost in national trade and this boost occurred just by being a bidder without actually hosting the event. Chicago isn't a loser for trying.
Over at HuffPo, they're denigrating conservatives for cheering the loss and Jesse Jackson and others are telling reporters that Chicago lost because of Bush and the anti-Americanism he created. In other words, the Olympic-sized political games are still on.
Chicago is FAR from the armpit of America. Don't make such a fool of yourself..
Why–is over-loading the taxpayer with even more debt patriotic? London's cost has nearly tripled in 5 yrs. Vancouver is having the same problems. Studies have shown the enormous cost yields few tangible benefits. The one benefit is a boost in national trade and this occurs just by bidding (and raising your profile) without actually having to host the games.
No, people who are happy Chicago didn't get it are smart. It's insane to be piling on more debt that would take decades to pay off. We're fed up with the waste and fraud of tax-payer money by inept and corrupt government.
The political machine in Chicago is definitely dirty but Chicago itself is a great place. Sure, it has its share of bad neighborhoods just like EVERY big city in the world, but it's a beautiful city with a lot of good people.
As for Obama, I'm as conservative as the rest of you, but like Doug I'm not delighted when our president takes a hit like this
Well, the stupid son of a b_tch set himself up for it by going to Copenhagen in the first place.
Would she really be that much worse at it?
My family's originally from the Chicago area. Frankly, even the nice neighborhoods are sh_tholes.
Doug does have a few good points in this article. I don't think this is as much a repudiation of Chicago as it is a Baptism of Rio. While I absolutely enjoy watching Obama get yet another international bi&ch slap across his arrogant "its all about me" face, we should all consider that the Olympics were probably the only decent jobs this President and his Administration were going to be able to create while in office.
For those Chicagoans that wanted the Olympics there, I feel bad. But it was a pretty even split between those who wanted the Olympics there and those who didn't. Therefore it's difficult to feel THAT bad.
Here's an idea, in case Chicago is in the running again, elect leaders that aren't so corrupt. Or maybe tell the President to stop betraying the people of the United States by apologizing to the world for everything that has gone wrong or right for that matter. The President condemns the evil that the United States has thrust upon the world and then he has the "Audacity of Hope" to think that the IOC would want to hold the Olympics in such an evil place as the US.
Good luck next time though.
Chicago, fix your corrupt politics and culture, and maybe we'll care. It is your political machine and your culture that allows Wright, Ayers and Obama to be "successful."
There are plenty of Chicagoans who did not want these games at all. Taking their side and appreciating Rio's gain isn't exactly anti-Chicago or anti-US.
I am glad there won't be billions more available for the corrupt political machine in Chicago. I am glad that Zero got rebuked by committee of foreign nations in a non-political arena.
I'm with Rush. I hope he fails.
You know what? You are right. I mean, it is not the fault of the hard working Chicago citizens that the bozo in this nation's highest office ruined it for the rest of them. Blame the corruption of the politics, blame the high crime rate, blame the fact that it wasn't meant to be. I feel sorry for those business owners who truly would have benefited from the Olympics in 2016. I feel sorrier that the only time 0bama touts the US is when he needs something from the rest of the world.
While I dislike the fact that the United States of America lost an opportunity of this magnitude…I am damn glad the Olympic bid went to Rio. Why? Because I can't trust and believe in MY president, THIS country's president (and his Chicago cronies) to have done the right thing in the event Chicago did win the bid. I couldn't trust him to be honest, fair, forthcoming and respectful during the course of events. His actions here-to-fore convince me of that. And, that makes me feel VERY melancholy…
If Chicago is embarassed then they only have themselves to blame. Maybe they should put the same effort that they put into the Olympics bid into getting rid of the corrupt "Chicago Machine". Then and only then will they have a city to be proud of.
If it had truly been a city to be proud of then the rest of America would have sympathized. As it is, Chicago deserves what it got and then some.
Excellent overview of "Their Plan".
Expose' on the Liberal Fascist Militant Left.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjl8N-O6D6s&fe…” target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjl8N-O6D6s&fe…
It lists names, in detail.
"Chicagoans admit that we are ethically challenged when it comes to our politics…. We are not proud of the reputation that the Cook County Democratic machine has won for us….."
And you morons just keep voting for them, don't you???????
Please save your excuses for Chicago. All the Olympics would have done is line the pocket's of Obama and Daley's friends while costing the US taxpayers billions.
The propaganda and progressive machines were the big loosers. I cringe to picture the openning and closing ceromonies that would have been seen had Chicago won the bid.
losing is good for your character.
Sorry Chicago–but this was a brush back pitch to primarily, Obama and secondarily, Chicago. You guys there in Chicago need to turn that dump over and over again and scatter those criminals running that place. I know there are a number of great people and great churches there in Chicago. Get to work folks, America is hurting as a result of their shenanigans.
Ben, had it been any other place in the US vying for the bid, I think it would have gotten more support despite how the economy is right now. Many are gleeful that Chicago did not get it because of the corruption in that town. The President set himself up for all the criticism being said. And the photo of him on the plane spending time with Gen. McCrystal for a paultry 25 mins. is despicable. He spent more time trying to charm the IOC than he did with the General. Did the White House fly McCrystal over for nothing more than the photo op and to say they met face to face? After the handshaking and the polite "How was your trip" comments, not much time was left to discuss something much more important than the Olympics.
If Chicagoans are embarrassed by their treatment in the media, maybe they should rise up, and take their city and Cook County back from the corrupt politicians who have turned this blue collar city into a political rat-infested sewer.
If the governor of Illinois had any backbone, he would declare martial law in Chicago, and sweep the entire political machine into jail for corruption. Don't tell me he couldn't find the evidence.
US relations turning point? We have gone from being a Respected Country too one that is slobering apoliges everywhere we go. Good for the US? How is feathering corruption pockets good for the US? We need too clean up our ethics and hold our politicians accountable not play Hostess with the MOSTESS right now. Let's get AMERICA BACK.
Why do the "decent American citizens" of Chicago continue to elect corrupt politicians?
Probably. But it's the drama and naturally-occurring comedy that ensues.
Sorry…not for Chicago's loss yesterday or Obama's smack down–but for spraying my husband's computer screen with coffee when I read your "woe is us" article. Hey, it's simple. Obama went to the IOC (teleprompter in hand) because of his colossal ego or because of an arm twist (extortion) by Mayor Daley who clearly has "dirt" on Obama. Besides, Rio is a better venue–end of story. Now get over it!
If there are so many good citizens in Chicago then why have you had for centuries the corrupt public officials you have? Have you no shame. The ethics conflict of Obama and Jarrett, Axelrod and others was enough to disqualify your city from anything. Would you trust them with your check book? You and you say are a conservative need to clean house otherwise let us take care of your house cleaning by exposing what you people have been electing. You have allowed the USA to be exposed to the corruption of Cook county. shame on you.
The Chicago Sun Times has an interesting article about the Olympic bid:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/1804013,CST-NWS-ri...
Every time Obama takes to the world stage we are embarrassed. And demeaned. And insulted. Obama made the mistake of underestimating the intelligence of the global community as well as that of American citizens.
I was disappointed but not surprised that Chicago did not get the Olympics. I would have loved for them to have come to the Windy City. But really, I thought the fix was in for Rio from the very start. For once, Chicago found itself out-ballotbox-stuffed.
Now… Chicago and Illinois, its time. Time to get rid of Daley, Stroger, Quinn, Madigan, and Burris. 2010 is right around the corner, and its high time these corrupt politicians got thrown out.
Let's just say I sent many a letter (email) to the IOC and used words like 'corruption" / Salt Lake, Follow the money" – Slumlord – valerie…..
We're broke people….we did not have 8 to 15 Billion to spen on this …. face facts that's all….
If all you whiney babies would just say – ok, let's get America back to work (without going into debt) and then we will try for 2020..
see how red he is ??/ Does he drink a lot???
Welcome to memphis, tn – Our freaking mayor ran this city into the ground and the people kept putting him back in….
The IOC's decision is more about South America, and RIo in particular, than it is about the U.S., Chicago and Obama. I doubt any president could have persuaded the IOC to choose an American repeat over a brand new sparkly South American venue. Rio is a gorgeous city – I wish them well.
Obama did do damage to himself with yet another "I Am The One" routine – but it's getting so repetitive that this is just another anecdote in the narrative of his narcissism and ineffectiveness. The recent video of the teenage boy being beaten to death by a gang probably didn't help the cause, either.
BREAKING NEWS
They are going to force H1N1 vaccines on children in Massachusetts…
http://mywhitehouse.org/2009/10/03/forced-quarant...
Be prepared
I love Chicago. In the late 60's, Chicago was one of the few places where I was treated with respect and kindness when I was in uniform. Taxi drivers wouldn't charge. Free admission to lots of public places; bars didn't card us and some even tore up the bill. I've visited many times since a good chunk of my family is from there and I've always/always been treated well. Scanning the above comments, I have to agree that those describing what the political machine and our current Prez have done using the good people of Chicago are probably accurate. However, I'm convinced that Chicago dodged a bullet with the IOC's decision. The IOC is at least as corrupt as the UN and the Prez's base organizations like ACORN. I've felt that way ever since the 1972 basketball finals – remember that grotesque display of "officiating" that went unpunished by those paradigms of goodness on the IOC? Don't forget their outstretched hands in the Salt Lake City Olympic debacle either. They missed an opportunity also to show the world what an incredibly ethnically diverse place Chicago is. Their loss.
Nope, I'm not unhappy that Chicago did not get the nod. Because this paves the way for Minneapolis-St. Paul to make a play for the 2020 Olympics, with an actual transportation network that will handle everything.
That, and Rio was going to be destined for this anyways. It's a first for the Olympics, having an olympic game in South America (One of two continents that has not had any olympic games as of yet. Africa will get it's due in some years down the road.)
Like, oh, about 1,500 other LGF old timers, I've been banned for having the temerity to doubt one of King Charles' pronouncements that so-and-so is a racist. But yeah, that was me.
Check it out! Their friend Valarie Jarrett come up with this non-sense to cover up her Slum Lord fiasco. If they would have won the Olympic bid, Valarie's problem would have been covered up by the Olympic Center. This was more than Husseins ego….His wifes friend is in trouble and she needs help. Too bad O'Keefe and Giles are busy because they are needed in Chitcago. The sad part, the city or its people were never sincerely in the interest of Hussein, Mrs. Hussein, or Valarie. They were only pawns for their agenda which is helping Match Maker Jarrett.
Oprah was a token that threw herself into the mixed. You've been played Opie!
chicago did not deserve the Olympic Games. It is a corrupt city, more than just ethically challenged. It is
a disgrace. It has a mayor that is outdoing his crooked father,one of the most ethically challenged men in
American history. And chicago gave us barrack and michele, 2 imbeciles. The sob stories they gave to the IOC
may have worked in the U.S. where there are alot of idiots, such as those who voted for them, but not on europeans who could not give a fecal matter less about their personal problems. Ergo, thumbs down on chicago
and most importantly on the obamas. What a couple of light weight fools they are.
Obama et al suffer from the black disease known as "we were wronged and so we are entitled". Thus their ignorant, inconsequential personal stories about "their" reasons to have the Committee vote in favor of Chicago. Chicagoians deserve what they got because THEY voted (and continue to vote)for "the corruption that exists. The chickens have come home to roost! Thanks to the information highway, we are treated to the brutal beatings by black on black, the corruption on every level of government and the machinations that took place under Obama in the State legislature and that continue to this very day. When you clean up your own mess, you will be taken seriously. In the meantime don't expect respect from the world when you do not have it from your fellow Americans.
Like who?
Cowboy, are you really a bigot or do you just talk like one?
The ipod was loaded with show tunes. But who cares about the facts when you can make things up.
ABC.
Anywhere But Chicago.
The real humiliation would have occurred if Chicago DID get the 2016 Olympics. Then the political corruption you described in your second paragraph would have been exposed on a global scale. The Daley machine made the mistake of believing in their own spin, and even got favorite son and political featherweight Barack Obama to wager all-in. Chicago needs the Olympic Games like a fish needs a bicycle.
Love it! Thanks for the chuckles..
Thank God our city has been spared this debacle and the little arrogant, narcissistic dictator got his comeupance.
What Obama did was truly unfortunate: he went to Copenhagen and tried to make the games about him. His speech in Copenhagen contained 14 paragraphs; 50% of those paragraphs contained references to his personal life and/or biography. If the USA had been awarded the games, they very likely would have been known (unofficially) as the Obama 2016 games and not the Chicago 2016 games (at least in the media and at least for a while). So, the schadenfreude that many people feel today is truly not directed at Chicago, but at Obama.
Absolutely
Check it out! Their friend Valarie Jarrett came up with this non-sense to cover up her Slum Lord fiasco. If they would have won the Olympic bid, Valarie's problem would have been covered up by the Olympic Center. This was more than Husseins ego….His wifes friend is in trouble and she needs help. Too bad O'Keefe and Giles are busy because they are needed in Chitcago. The sad part, the city or its people were never sincerely in the interest of Hussein, Mrs. Hussein, or Valarie. They were only pawns for their agenda which is helping Match Maker Jarrett.
Oprah was a token that threw herself into the mix. You've been played Opie!
Having grown up in Chicago and will always think of Chicago fondly, but Cook County and Chicago City politics are completely corrupt and our current President validates this every day and every time that he speaks.
I also lived in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics and know that this is the only Olmypic event that came anywhere near breaking even. But doingso resulted in very negative comments in the press from all varieties of international olympic officials.
It took Montreal almost 25 years to pay off their Olympics.
Can Chicago really afford this in the current economic times?
Is this similar to the man who can barely afford to feed his children and pay his rent going out and buying a $1,000 suit because having the suit will impress his neighbors?
doug, don't insult the U.S. of A!!!!!! Chicago has been a shit city, spitting in the face of every American that has fought and died for this GREAT COUNTRY and everything it stands for! Constantly putting out THUGS and self-serving Low-Lifes. You keep electing these vermin and allow their cronies to get filthy rich. It has been going on since Al Capone was run out. It is NOT a GREAT City, but, a GREAT EMBARRASSMENT to the USA and the WHOLE WORLD knows it. That is why it lost it's bid. Until the people of Chicago stop repeating the same mistakes over and over, expecting a different result, it will perpeptually live in insanity. There is a BIG difference between what could be and what is!!!
P.S. The Cubbies desearve better!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How stupid are you to think this will in any way affect President Obama? Please, stay living in that dick face, red neck city of Atlanta. Get out your white sheets and pointy hats and sit on 'em.
I hope ALL of your tax money was spent on the trip. In fact I hope they all had a beer and a laugh when they flew over your house.
I was in ATL for the years preceeding and during the 1996 Olympics. As pointed out above, the ATL games were the only ones in recent memory that came anywhere close to breaking even — and it earned us scorn from the press and the IOC (The Grand High MuckyMuck of the IOC famously declined to call our games the "Best Olympics yet" as all previous presiding GHMMs had every four years).
Mostly because we Southerners, while hospitable, friendly, and polite, did not bow and scape to the IOC nobility (for instance, the sports arenas had no separate entrance for IOC members — they had to actually mingle with the hoi polloi; the horror!) Never mind that doing so would either restrict people-flow and slow access for the paying customers, or require immense additional costs…lese majeste must be observed!
I attended one of the rifle competitions. My tickets were a few rows behind the reserved seats for IOC members and I paid almost $100 for the privilege — their seats were better, and free. Yet I heard one, loudly complaining in accented English — obviously intending to be overheard — that the seats were too close to "the rabble".
No…Chicago is WAY better off without the Olympics. Thank your lucky stars.
If you think that You Tube videos of innocent students being beaten to death doesn't effect the image of Chicago in the eyes of the entire WORLD… well, let's just say that the timing couldn't have been worse. Maybe that city has bigger problems than not getting to host sporting events.
The truth hurts, but still must be said.
Recently, there was video of a Black honor student who was beaten to death by Black thugs in Chicago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoUJr40zQb8&fe...
A poster at "What About Our Daughters?" asked if such violence combined with "stop snitchin" madness contributed to Chicago being snubbed by the IOC:
http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com/2009/09/chic...
I think this latest example of senseless violence did reinforce Chicago's criminal reputation, which would be a turnoff to the IOC.
Screw the Olympics, wherever they may be held. A pox on them and to hell with them.
That being said, the decision by the IOC was not so much a repudiation of America as a repudiation of the violence, corruption and machine politics of Chicago. What Olympic committee in its right mind would choose to have its orgies in a city that has so recently been burning up the internet with videos of its citizens beating innocent scholars to death on its streets? That is notorious for having a government that is indistinguishable from a criminal enterprise?
The IOC decision was also a repudiation of the arrogant certainty of the city's favorite son, Obama, that his glib grinning face would be enough to charm the world into handing over whatever he wants. This man is not a president but merely a ward heeler for the Daley gang.
It would appear that some of the lurkers here can't help themselves from spewing hate speak with the anonyminty(sic) of being signed up here allows. For two bits or two requests, I'd c and p the email I got overnight right here in this blog. Regrettably there would be no way for people to fill this jerk's inbox with responses. What a jerk.
I wont even try to add to these comments, I do believe, however, the American people are wakening up, and shrugging off their dumbness. Let's pray that we continue!
Chicago is a dump. Its pols are crooks. Its "culture" is brash and stupid. Its infrastructure is abhorrent. Yet despite all this, the city had the hubris to set up enormous TV monitors and invite huge crowds to witness its coronation by the IOC. Chicago's always been that way: hopelessly in love with its own reflection, blissfully unaware that to the rest of the world it's just an unflushed, unflushable toilet.
In lieu of losing the Olympics, maybe Chicago can hold a "hot dog" Olympics. What do you think, Mayor Daily?
It would appear that some of the lurkers here can't help themselves from spewing hate speak with the anonyminity(sic) being signed up here allows. For two bits or two requests, I'd c and p the email I got overnight right here in this blog. Regrettably there would be no way for people to fill this jerk's inbox with responses. What a jerk.
Might want to consider letting the replies be visible too? Maybe even a PM (private message) option? Just thinking out loud here.
Who in the world is the guy that wrote this absurd, putrid, patently ridiculous, whiny drivel?
There are thousands upon thousands of Chicago resident, of all political stripes, who are celebrating NOT having to live through Chicago having the Olympics; not to mention the millions of Americans who are pleased as punch that the Obamas, Ophrah, Daley, and especially Valerie Jarrett and her slum lord cronies won't make a penny off the backs of the poor AND the Olympics !
This was no slap in in the face to America/Americans,but it sure was to the hubristic, egomanical, naifs who went over to Denmark expecting to be handed the Olympics on a silver salver. LOL
I'll be among the only republicans in Chicago that will agree with you. No one knows what the economy (US or world) would be in 2016. No one knows if Daley would still even be mayor in 2016. Maybe we would have a Giuliani-style Republican in the seat by then.
It is indeed possible that the Games in Chicago would have been a boon to the city's business infrastructure. I myself have been an Olympic fan since 1992 and considered the idea of Chicago hosting the Games several months before the official 2016 bid was even considered. It would have definitely been a great way for the City of Chicago have a grand event on the world stage (like the Columbian Exposition or the World's Fair in centuries past). I hope that the private organizers of Chicago 2016 will try again in 2024 or 2028. Maybe even 2036 in time for the city's bicentennial. I'll be 56 by 2036, and I'm pretty sure Daley will not be mayor at that point.
Several comments ask the the question: "Why do the voters of Chicago keep electing corrupt officials?" Well – simple answer: The 'voters' who stand to gain from the corruption – union bosses, welfare recipients, teacher unions, city hall hangers-on and all their families and friends, etc. – outnumber the number who want to clean up the mess.
Chicago passed this threshold years ago. The US is near this point right now. Another election like 2008, and the US electorate will be in the same situation. Once past this point, we will never be able to recover. The US voted for "Change", and we're getting it! Brace yourself.
Several comments ask the the question: "Why do the voters of Chicago keep electing corrupt officials?" Well – simple answer: The 'voters' who stand to gain from the corruption – union bosses, welfare recipients, teacher unions, city hall hangers-on and all their families and friends, etc. – outnumber the number who want to clean up the mess.
Let me get this straight. Chicago's greatest son, "tingly leg" speechmaker to the world, you know, the "One" is spirited to Copenhagen (minus his ACORN thugs, who usually help him get things he wants by stuffing the ballot box with names like Micky Mouse and Marty Moose), and finishes fourth (out of four places), which is exactly the same position we were in last June, when Chicago was named as a finalist (Bush was president). And you expect sympathy. Perhaps if more "good" Chicagoans had advised the "Apologizer in Chief", that your fine city would stand a better chance of hosting the Olympics, if he had cut back on some of his statements on the world stage, bashing America. Maybe, just maybe, if all the good people in Illinois had smelled this fraud out seven years ago, and dispatched him to "community organizing" around Wrigley Field, instead of letting him use you as a stepping stone to the presidency, we all could have been spared the embarrassment of Chicago getting treated like the "Cubs".
So , just to sum up: Chicago is a "Shit City" , "Cesspool", "Saddam and Gomorrah" and the "Armpit of America".
It's culture is " Brash and Stupid"
President Obama is a "Khaffir" , and Michelle Obama is an "Imbecile"
Also "to hell with the olympics".
I learn so much from this site , thanks to you all. I can only hope that your views gain the prominence they deserve in the Rebublican party.
this was great news, but it could be better if Daley and all his buddies were thrown in prison. lived in chicago all my life and seen its corruption…govt, unions, police; but check your own cities, you all have the samething…just isn't getting the press right now.
Wow! You threw out an actual name of a street in Chicago! You must know the city very well.
I'm not seeing a misspelling in my post.
Harleyone had talked about Chicago being "ethically challenged." You changed that to "ethNically challenged." I figured the "n" that you inserted was unintentional…?
Hi Jack.I found some of the original 912ers at this site http://912communique.ning.com/ it has a vent page too.Please check it out.Hope you get this.