What, exactly, did Obama "lose" by pitching Chicago as an Olympic venue?

[Are_grits_groceries]

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.”

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=27767

I also don't know why it diminished his political capital? Will somebody refuse to work with him because Chicago didn't get the Olympics? He could have brought back a brazillion jobs, and they would still criticize him.

[POAS]

1. Lost? Nothing! Gained? Made Republicans look petty, again! n/t

[Motown_Johnny]

11. If he didn't do it they would have attacked him for not going...

[POAS]

16. ding ding ding........n/t

[Traveling_Home]

2. What, exactly, did Obama "lose" by pitching Chicago as an Olympic venue? FACE nt

[monmouth]

5. You're kidding, right?...n/t

[Baltoman991]

13. Only to

Republicans, the media and those "progressives" who are happier then pigs in shit because Chicago didn't get the Olympics.

To those who don't want him to fail, we applaud his efforts as well as the efforts of the leaders of the other countries who weren't picked.

[WinkyDink]

17. This is foolish thinking. Reagan visited a Nazi S.S. cemetery, FGS. Dubya let N.O. DROWN.

[Bluzmann57]

3. Those who criticize him are obviously "Anti American"

I said that very thing to a RWer who was making fun of Obama and his alleged failure at lobbying the IOC for the 2016 summer games in Chicago. The guy naturally got mad at me but that was the intent. That and to make him look stupid.
To answer your question, he probably won't be affected by this one way or the other. The IOC, which should stand for International Organized Crime, probably was leaning toward Rio all along. And while the Olympics in Chicago would have been nice, it may have also been a headache. Chicago, as well as the USA will survive the loss of something we never had and will move forward.

[Meshuga]

4. It is like what President Lula of Brazil said yesterday

And I paraphrase: Obama did not embarrass himself by going to Copenhagen. The US cannot win everything and Obama's presidency has 8 years to achieve many victories for the American people.

[rpannier]

6. the respect and admiration of beck, limbaugh and the tea baggers??

I'd have said he lost some measure of respect if he hadn't gone

Every other head of gov't/state went

[rurallib]

8. lost the respect of the slime merchants?

[niceypoo]

7. Things like this drive more and more people out of the GOP

Normal people are aghast at their anti-American reaction. The more of this sort of idiotic crap, the merrier

[Honeycombe8]

9. Why are there still posts about this non-issue? nt

[POAS]

10. Agree completely!

While most of America shrugs its collective shoulders the GOP celebrates and gives themselves high-fives. It was worth a shot (a long shot at that) but, in having lost the bid, it is not the great victory the GOP thinks they have won.

[LTR]

12. Nothing

Anytime Obama can promote this country on the world stage is a win-win.

Besides, you can't get anywhere without putting in the effort.

I always knew Chicago would be a longshot anyway, but that doesn't mean that Obama should have thrown in the towel. Hey, if his predecessor can go to China and hang out for four days goofing off at the Olympics, why can't our current president spend a day lobbying the committee?

This effort was not wasted.

[slackmaster]

14. Waste of jet fuel

:argh:

[bigwillq]

15. I don't think anything.

I was supportive in Obama's push to get the Games. Don't think there was anything wrong with it. It's not a failure that we didn't get the Games. It happens. It's a non-story, imo. We tried. We didn't get it. No big deal.

[LiberalFighter]

18. Some points to throw back at naysayers

1) The bid was put in by Chicago

2) The bid was in 2006.

3) The bid was not initiated by Obama.

4) The presentation was not put together by Obama.

5) The presentation did not consist of just Obama and his wife.

6) What was in the presentation besides the Obama's?

7) The Olympic voters probably don't like Mayor Daley.

8) Mayor Daley probably doesn't have much of personality or imagination when making presentations.

9) It was Mitt Romney's responsibility to win the bid. He didn't bribe enough of the voters. That was why he wanted Obama to help in the presentation so he could shift the blame from him to Obama. *

* Well #9 is probably going too far.

[Lorien]

19. Who cares?

Why is this even an issue?

[BlueMTexpat]

20. He didn't lose a thing. If anything, he won more hearts and minds.

Just speaking as someone who sees things from the European side of The Pond.
There are many reasons why this wasn't destined to be Chicago's year, and none of them relate to Obama's presence or absence.
But as the husband of a home town girl, it was sweet of him to go, and the gesture was mightily appreciated by those outside the US, to see that he would take the time and make the effort.

[demwing]

21. The lesson is: "Never Try"

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/jmftczwtqn--Never-tryHomer-Simpson-The-Simpsons-

[Balbus]

22. Well, to be fair, if Chicago did get the games...

it would've been touted by the Dems as a great victory for O. So you have to take the bad if you were ready to exploit the good. So basically, O lost face. Can't be denied.

[ohheckyeah]

23. The argument I read yesterday

was it proved he didn't have a deal with Russia before he canceled the missiles for eastern Europe. :rofl:

[DailyGrind51]

24. He gave it a shot, and that's good enough for me.

[quantass]

25. Makes him Gain by realizing Republicans should not be bargained with

They are out to destroy him and with all these backlash events against him by them it is hopeful in time he will give up on them entirely and FINALLY embrace his party including the progressives so he can begin real change. America needs to get better and the road to that is for him to divorce republicans, not kiss their ring.

[jenmito]

26. Cokie Roberts said today on "This Week" that it was "bad judgment" for

Obama to go to Copenhagen without KNOWING the Olympics were in the bag for him. That's ridiculous. :eyes: