We Lost More Than The Olympics in 2016
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
The President made a major misstep by going to Copenhagen to pitch the Windy City as host of the 2016 Olympics. Barack Obama and wife Michelle made impassionate speeches to urge the IOC to pick Chicago, Illinois, over all other cities in the world as the spot for the games in 7 years. The U.S. was blown out in the first round of voting. It was like Mike Tyson knocking out his opponent in the first 10 seconds of a fight. A not even close, dismal defeat considering President Obama, and even Oprah, pitched the event to come to America.
What was he thinking? We are on the brink of a depression. Millions of homes will foreclose in the coming years according to the Treasury Secretary. Unemployment inched higher this week. It is at a 26 year record with 9.8 percent unable to find work. According to shadowstats.com , the real unemployment rate is 21.4 percent if you calculate it the way the Bureau of Labor Statistics did it prior to 1994. Obamacare is facing a major uphill battle from Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats in his own party. Generals in Afghanistan say there is a real possibility of “defeat” if they do not get 40 thousand additional troops to fight the Taliban. Israel is signaling a first strike against Iranian nuclear facilities which could conceivably set off World War 3, and President Obama thought it was necessary for him to personally pitch Chicago for the Olympics 7 years from now!
You are kidding me, right? Obama couldn’t send Vice President Biden or Secretary of State Clinton over to pitch Chicago for the Olympics? You see, if they got shot down, it really would not be the same as the Leader of the Free World getting shot down. The President thought going over to Europe with his buddy Oprah, a talk show host, with more than 15 million Americans out of work was a good idea? How much did that cost…2 or 3 million bucks? Did the President think this was a way to bolster American prestige? Well, it backfired! In my opinion, the trip cut our standing on the world stage when we so desperately need to look strong. Instead, we look weak and unfocused. The President appears oblivious to the massive problems facing the country.
I am sure the President thought getting the Olympics would be a way to create jobs. I guess taking years to build facilities we will use for a month while the Olympics is in town 7 years from now would create jobs. Wouldn’t it be better for the President to create jobs that will be with us long after the Olympics is over, such as permanent jobs in the energy field or maybe even find a way to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.?
I happen to like President Obama, but that doesn’t mean I should not criticize him when he is way off on Fantasy Island somewhere. You will not hear critiscm about this trip from the mainstream media because most of them voted for Obama. Still, the President needs to wake up and see this trip for what it really was… a complete failure on many levels. The United States did not just lose the 2016 Olympics. We lost some of our dignity and standing on the world stage.
Please Support Our Direct Sponsors Below
Who Support The Truth Tellers
About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
Greg, Why the exaggerated response to Obama’s trip?? You can’t be serious that you think he’s really oblivious to all that is going on here? If he hadn’t gone and Chicago was eliminated in the first round, I can guarantee that the media would have been all over that!! Fox news would have been apoplectic.
That guy is in no-win situations no matter what. My thinking is that as the American empire continues further into its decline, many citizens continue to look for fall guys. And, he’s a convenient one. People are wrongly assuming that our country is deteriorating in the last year since he was elected. Good heavens, it’s been happening since I was a child [I’m now 58]. I’d far rather have a President who takes a brief trip to Copenhagen than one who took three months of vacation a year clearing brush on his ranch.
It wasn’t a dismal defeat nor did we lose standing on the world’s stage. This is what the end of empire looks like. It was inevitable that Rio would win – last year China, a few years Brazil. Yup, the world’s energies are clearly shifting. We Americans are so damned sure that we are entitled to everything [how dare they eliminate Chicago!!] and that is one, but far from the only one, reason why the world’s interest is slowly shifting elsewhere. Regards, Mari
Mari,
Really nice thought out comment. Thank you for taking the time to reply!
Greg Hunter
Greg, I am responding to a previous comment. I think that the reader has a false impression that the Olympic Games make money for the host city. There is only one Olympics that made money and it was in LA and due to LA utilizing a previous Olympic venue and merely updating it with sponsors covering the cost. Just what the American tax payer needs is another couple billion dollars of waste.
There is an old saying, “Nero fiddles while Rome burns”. This means “To occupy oneself with unimportant matters and neglect priorities during a crisis”. With the US economy in a shambles, why would Obama or any other leader spend time, money or political capital on the Olympics?
Why would our government be wasting time ON ANYTHING other than our ECONOMY?
What instrument does Obama play?
And I voted for the man so I have the right to ask these questions?
We need FOCUS, not Multitasking!!
Greg:
Well said. I like the Preseident too, although people don’t believe me. I’m like Simon Cowell on American idol…when he does a good thing, I applaud and when he does a bad thing I criticize.
The Olympic trip was misguided and wasteful. Chicago does not deserve the Olympics. I’m glad it went to a city, country and continent that has never before hosted.
Blame it on Rio.
Frank
Greg, I guarantee you we lost far more standing in this world from the toxic financial garbage that was peddled all over the world by the Wall Street crooks. Absolutely nothing has been done to bring them to account for all the damage they have wrought despite all the campaign rhetoric from Mr. Hope-and-change-we-can-believe-in. I imagine in growing areas of the world we are seen as a nation of morons, thieves and liars.
T Dawson,
Agreed.
Greg
Hi Greg:
I like the president and his wife Michelle. I found her recent speech on why we need healthcare reform the most informative of any I have heard since the debates began. And I hope they can work out a bill that makes sense and is advantageous to average Americans. However, why they went to Copenhagen to campaign for an Olympic bid is puzzling to me also. I am surprised that Chicago thought they had a chance. I would have thought that, aside from all the immediate domestic and international matters at hand, which you mentioned, it would have been obvious that Brazil would be a far more likely candidate for a couple of reasons. They have never hosted an Olympic games and they are a successful emerging economy. And, to my knowledge, they have not created wars or global economic meltdowns recently. However, I think that America’s standing in the world did not tank any further. After all, it is rock bottom right now, even with the advent of the election of a black, or mixed race president. America has been largely responsible for presenting the world with a choice variety of unstable toxic situations to deal with. The Olympic committee are hardly going to reward America now with another chance to host the Olympics. I mean – duh!!!! There is a lot more work for America to do and is only at the beginning of re-proving herself to the world. It’s going to take a lot more than the immediate charm of the Obama’s or Oprah.
Claire,
Here, here! Thank you for writing!
Greg