Her Name Is Rio, and She Dances on the Sand
Jubilation in Brazil today as Rio de Janeiro beat out Chicago, Madrid, and Tokyo to win the rights to host the 2016 Olympics, this despite a somewhat controversial decision by Barack Obama to lobby on behalf of his hometown.
In another update that brings closure to a previously blogged story, the Secret Service investigated the Facebook Obama assassination poll and determined that it was a juvenile prank, literally. No charges will be filed. To me, this story played out perfectly. I think the decision to investigate was a good one, and I think the conclusion was a wise one, as well…
Hmmm… Rio…. Chicago… Rio… Chicago… Okay, Rio!
The biggest no-brainer in the history of earth!
My work and my personal life take me to Chicago on a semi-frequent basis. Having the Olympics there would have been a disaster. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like in the city of the permanent traffic jam. So, while I would always be happy with an Olympics in the U.S. I was never enthused about the choice of Chicago.
Now, having said that…
The glee and giddiness that you see on some conservative blogs and hear on Rush and Beck is misplaced. Yes, Obama should not have gone. And, in a strictly partisan sense, I could be happy that this loss somewhat diminishes him. But it also diminishes the office of the President of the United States, and to some degree the United States itself.
So, I can’t be gleeful about how things turned out. I feel that this was the right decision, but in spite of my Chicago misgivings, I can’t help but feel a little wistful that we won’t be having the Olympics here.
I’ve gotten royally chewed out for mentioning this already on HotAir, but so be it. I’m consistent in my pride for my country, no matter who sits in the Oval Office. I’m consistent in my respect for the Presidency, and my desire for that office to be respected, no matter who the President is.
President Rio doesn’t “respect the office”, why should you? I wonder if Letterman gave him any tips last week?
In any event, we need more payback for the last eight years. I am not satiated yet.
I would also have liked to to see the Olympics in America, but it’s not that big of a deal for me. I think Obama miscalculated badly by going in person to Denmark, because now the failure of the bid is unfairly associated with him personally…
How could he not go? He’s putatively from Chicago, he’s POTUS, the bid for siting the Olympics was viewed as an American bid as much as it was a Chicago bid. I don’t see how he stays home, and I don’t see any lasting negative effect from his decision to go. I mean, it’s 6am in Boston and a quick review on online news sources shows barely a mention of this topic.
To be clear though, I’m glad there won’t be an Olympics here. The sooner the Olympics fade into history the better.
I don’t know…the press, including, crucially, the foreign press, was brutal yesterday. The overwhelming sentiment seemed to be: “see, this guy talks big, but he can’t deliver”…
True, and that was the risk he took in going. There would have been no shortage of calls for his head had he not gone. IMO, couldn’t win either way cuz’ Chicago was never going to be selected. I would have been overjoyed if he had refused to go and by explanation have said that given the behavior of the IOC (or whatever their acronym is these days) over the past 30 years he judged that Chicago had no chance and so it was a fools errand to fly to Copenhagen. Now that would be news of the interesting kind.