If Only Rhetoric Was An Olympic Sport

After much deliberation, President Obama is on his way to Copenhagen to petition the International Olympic Commission (IOC) to pick his hometown of Chicago, IL as the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games. As you might have guessed, not everybody is happy about it. As you might have also guessed, a lot of the conservative talking heads on television and radio are behind the rhetoric... again.

Here's what I don't understand.

1. If President Bush could vacation for weeks at a time, why can't President Obama? Seriously, he's the President of the United States of America and he can make snap military and security policy and defend this country just as easily on his trip to Europe as he can in the White House.

2. The longer he's out of the country, the less time the President will have to spend pushing his atrocious socialized healthcare policy. Don't we want him out of the country?

3. In the local debate (there are actually small factions opposed to the Olympics in Chicago), Mayor Daley of Chicago, Michael Jordan, and many others have put their reputations on the line to bring the Games to our backyard. Would they really be pushing for this if it was an economic or social death sentence to not only the city that they love, but also themselves?

4. I wasn't around at the turn of the 20th Century, but I have to wonder how many people opposed the "Century of Progress" World's Fair of 1933 in Chicago. For those of you not familiar with the event, many of Chicago's signature landmarks, especially on the lakefront, have their roots in this epic event. The World's Fair not only helped Chicagoans ease the pains of the Great Depression, but also shaped the city for the century to come. The 2016 Olympics have the potential to reinvent Chicago for the 21st Century and leave a legacy worthy of the "Century of Progress" event in 1933.

Yeah, traffic will be a mess for a few weeks and hotel rooms will be darn near impossible to get if you happen to live in the Chicago area and your mother-in-law wants to come visit you. Aside from the few weeks of hassle, however, the long term benefits are almost undeniable unless you have a vendetta against the President of the United States because of his domestic politics (an easy trap to fall into) or Mayor Daley (who you either love or hate). Besides, odds are that parking will be much, MUCH more pleasant after the Olympics are over if Chicago wins it's bid.

Here in Northwest Indiana, many opponents of the Regional Development Authority (RDA) should be able to look at the 2016 bid as another excuse to stop or delay the implementation of the organization. If Chicago wins its 2016 Olympic bid, the Federal Government is going to flood tax dollars into transportation and infrastructure improvements the RDA would be established to provide. Granted, that's hardly the most economically conservative argument against the RDA or for the Olympics, but it would prevent the establishment of a permanent regional governmental entity that the voters would have little, if any, control over.

What irritates me the most about this situation is that the conservatives who are now bashing the 2016 Olympic Bid and Obama's involvement in the bid won't blink an eye before criticizing the President if the IOC decides to go with Rio, Madrid, or Tokyo instead of Chicago - saying that it serves as proof that the President lacks any international authority and that the United States is weak under his leadership. If Chicago wins the bid, however, those same opponents will criticize him for being careless with the upfront investment it will cost (no mention of possible returns on the investments, of course) and that the President is a "celebrity" who our mortal European enemies love so much.

Indeed, if only political rhetoric was an Olympic sport.

Personally, I wish President Obama the best and wish him, and the rest of the Chicago delegation, a safe and successful journey to Copenhagen.

A bit of a side story, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks several languages fluently, but in public, he only speaks Russian. He insists that as a leader in Russia, it is imperative that he speaks Russian as the representative of the Russian people, and it's an enormously popular (domestically) trait of Putin's. Well in 2007, during the bidding process for the 2014 Winter Olympics, take a look at what then-President of the Russian Federation did.

VIDEO OF VLADIMIR PUTIN SPEAKING ENGLISH AND FRENCH REMOVED FROM YOUTUBE AS A RESULT OF THE 2022 RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR. (DOWNLOAD AND ARCHIVE YOUR DATA SO THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN TO YOU)

That's not Russian he's speaking. It's English and French. And it was a HUGE deal. What President Obama is doing is hardly pandering compared to what Putin did two years ago. And unless you want to argue that Putin is a softer, more pacifist, and less nationalistic ruler than President Obama (which we can all agree is not the case), then there really isn't any point beyond simple domestic politics for the criticism that's coming from our side of the political divide.

Archived Comments

LD Jackson
I don't have a problem with President Obama lobbying for Chicago, but it does seem like it will be costing a large amount of money to fly his wife and then himself 4,000 miles to do so. I would be lying if I said I didn't wonder about that.

Kevin Tracy
Yeah, but to be honest, Air Force One is constantly undergoing maintenance and cleaning and billions are probably spent on the security detail regardless of where the President is. Is it more expensive for him to go, yes.
But in the grand scheme of things, it's probably saving us money. Obama has to delay his health care plan and other expensive agenda items for a couple days... the amount of money the President's trip will cost in those few days he's gone is insignificant compared to the amount of money his enacted policies would cost in the same period.
The more pre-occupied the President is with international travel, the better it will be for the United States.

Спасибо. Я рад, моя база данных поддерживает кириллицу.

Wickle
But ... but ... he's OBAMA! Whatever he's doing MUST be evil.
Seriously, I've heard people dispute the merits of hosting the Olympics (compared to the expense people put into lobbying for it). Having said that, I don't really care. If Chicago wants to host, and Pres. Obama wants to help make that happen ... fine. I have better things to do than complain about it.
This is another one of those things that I think will hurt any 2012 Republican candidate -- voters will eventually tire of irrational bashing.

Kevin Tracy

I have better things to do than complain about it.
This is another one of those things that I think will hurt any 2012 Republican candidate — voters will eventually tire of irrational bashing.

AMEN and well put.