Gibbs: Is Steele Rooting For Brazil To Get Olympic Games? (VIDEO)

Pushing back against criticism that the President is too busy to stop in Copenhagen to pitch Chicago as a host site for the 2016 Olympics, the White House played the patriotism card on Tuesday.

Asked about remarks by RNC chairman Michael Steele accusing Obama of leaving Congress directionless on health care by making the trip, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs shot back by suggesting that Steele was rooting for Brazil to win the Olympic bid

"Who is he rooting for?" Gibbs asked. "Is he hoping to hop a plane to Brazil and catch the Olympics in Rio? Maybe it's Madrid?"

Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are two other front-runners for hosting the 2016 games.

A blunt sound bite that drew "oohs" from the press corps, Gibbs' is the sharpest reaction to come from the White House to those Republicans who have questioned the decision to send the president to Copenhagen. But don't expect it to put an end to the criticism. The emerging argument among conservatives now is that Obama should use the flight overseas as an opportunity to visit ground forces in Afghanistan. If the president doesn't make that trip in addition to his stop in Copenhagen, he could risk a whole other round of recriminations.

"The president again sees the opportunity to push strongly on the international stage America's bid for the Olympics," Gibbs explained, when asked why Obama thought it was important to personally push for the Olympic games. "He will obviously have a part in the Chicago presentation and believes it is important for him to talk directly with voting members of the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and make the strong case for the American side."

Comments

[CUL8R]

Hey Steele, you dufus. It's 2009 not 1809. We have the innernets and all kinds of high falutin stuff to keep the presidents in touch with the rest of the US of A.

[DestinationsUnknown]

Oh yea-

Just bop on over to Afghanistan - cause it is so safe to just drop in anytime

The ignorance is sooooooooooooo embarrassing

Did they not get it- ?

WSJ/Murdcoh crowd tells President; Dumb it Down

The President REFUSES to DUMB Down our nation any morwe than they have done!

What do they not understand?

[gettingitright]

What a legacy Steele will leave. A black man trying to discredit and dishonor the first black President at every turn. That's more than a footnote in the history books.

[hopefulinpa]

Hey Barrister.. seems to me you have too much time on your hands. If, as your moniker denotes, are an attorney, then you need to be spending more time with your clients. Oh but wait.. you are only doing what your esteemed leaders do... forget about your constituents and spend time bad mouthing everything you have no solutions for.

[Observer963]

Our President is fighting for us on all stages, occasions and fronts. Only people like Steele who don't care about this country and its people can find a problem with that.

[ranchero42]

Michael Steele needs to pick his battles a little more carefully. Unless he's figured out a new fundraising strategy that focuses on him looking foolish and incompetent. In that case, well played, Mikey!

[Littlewords]

Steele is just angry that while he is a world record holder for distance in the "foot down own throat" competition, he is still not in Olympic form on the required "foot extraction" part of the event.

[DCBarrister]

Foot down throat? You mean like Obama and his pledge to deliver healthcare to 47 million Americans through a public option?

Got it.

Keep the change.

Hillary 2012

[Littlewords]

Good thing Obama is not facing health care due to Hillary and Bill taking care of it during the Clinton WH....good call.

I'll keep the change, and you'll live with it like it or not.

[hopefulinpa]

Hey Barrister.. seems to me you have too much time on your hands. If, as your moniker denotes, are an attorney, then you need to be spending more time with your clients. Oh but wait.. you are only doing what your esteemed leaders do... forget about your constituents and spend time bad mouthing everything you have no solutions for.

[MiddleRiver]

If the other top contenders are sending their heads of state, our President's absence would ensure that we DID NOT get the bid. If that happened, who would be the first to complain?

We need a simple response to these Obama-h@ters. It is obvious that ANYTHING he does is wrong in their eyes. GOP: No We Can't.

[scotus1]

To be fair, was there a more strident voice than Steele's in criticizing George W. Bush for taking in excess of 879 days vacation (as of May, 2008), including during Katrina? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/11/politics/uwire/main3927378.shtml. Ummm, actually he never once criticized or otherwise commented on Dubya's casual work hours, but still the parallel between the work ethics of our last two presidents is frightening. Bush spent 879 days away from the helm and Obama is spending, what, five hours? So the criticism is valid. It's only a matter of numbers.

[MiddleRoadLiberal]

"Steele accusing Obama of leaving Congress directionless on health care by making the trip"

That would have been petty in the time of Washington and Adams, but today with our jetplanes and blackberries that is down right laughably cheap.

[MacQ]

The people who make big money on the Olympics are the real estate developers.
The unions will profit with construction jobs.
The taxpayers-not so much. Vancouver and Atlanta are still in debt.

The president is paying another campaign debt to chicago cronies. oops- make that the taxpayers paying another campaign debt.

[luvobama]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[jwredd]

Hey dvmbshlt, it works like this: when a construction worker earns a dollar, he goes to either a store, a restaurant or a bar and spends it. That dollar then travels through our society and makes it "move".

Then when the construction worker has finished building the stadium, other people come with their dollars and leave them with all the merchants. Guess what they do with those dollars, they spend them somewhere else. Are you aware that "tourism" is an "industry"? Are you just upset that it's not your hometown?

[DCBarrister]

Not a lot of "construction workers" spending dollars these days...it's among the hardest hit on Obama's watch.

Skip to the Puff the Magic Dragon part of this fairy tale, err...Obama Presidency.

[MacQ]

Namecalling isn't really necessary.
I said that some people benefit. Construction jobs would be one.

But the taxpayers in cities that have hosted the Olympics in the past have been paying down their Olympic debt for decades in some cases.
Inner cities get revitalized (if you don't mind the displacement of the poor who live there).

No I don't want the Olympics in my city. I'm not in to prestige. Tourism doesn't actually follow after the Olympics are over. Check Sydney for that one.
Real estate developers are the big winners. They get rich like crazy. The taxpayers lose.
Chicago can have it. They probably deserve it.

[HoldenLitgo]

If you look beyond the obvious - rarely done on the right and even when they do they get it wrong - and Obama's connections to Chicago, it's actually just a bid for America to host the summer Olympics again. Even looking AT the obvious, it's clear that would benefit all Americans and the country's economy. Why that would offend some on the right is beyond me and, quite frankly, unpatriotic.

[MacQ]

No, it's a bid for Chicago to host. Tell me how much Chicago benefitted when Atlanta hosted. Or any other city in America (including Atlanta, actually)

[daisydukes]

Vancouver is actually preparing to host the 2010 winter olympics. There is big construction all over the place to prepare......Hotels have been fully booked for months now (think about jobs available there); Olympics paraphenalia is flying off the shelves. Because of numerous constructions, not to mention new roads being built, public transportation being upgraded.... jobs are all over the place and all of this started 4 years ago. where is the debt you are referring to ? Vancouver is already a world renowned tourist attraction, even international students want to come and study there, bringing in international scholarship dollars. How is getting a successful olympic bid a bad thing, President Obama is known for his oratorical skills which can be used not only for political gains but also for the greater good of America. If Chicago is successful, you have so much to gain, not to mention the possibility of tourists coming back. President Obama is also well like internationally and people will sit up and listen to what he has to say.

[MacQ]

There's quite a bit of controversy about the economics of the Vancouver games already. Go google.

[Caribbeana]

Atlanta made a profit of $10 million. Use the internet and do a fact check before you start posting cr@p. The last 3 summer Olympic games and teh winter games in salt lake city all made profits..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics

What the games did for Atlanta
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1998/06/15/focus17.html?page=2

[Caribbeana]

Clarification - the last 3 games held in the United States - LA 1932, LA 1984 and Atlanta 1996 all realised significant profits. I was not able to find data for the 1904 Games held in St. Louis.

[GrogInOhio]

Why are Republicans constantly surprised that a president can walk and shew gum at the same time? Oh wait... okay... never mind.

[readytoleavenow]

There goes our horrible, socialist/communist/facist/nazi President, trying to destroy American again...

[Telemachus]

... by promoting capitalist businesses! Oh, he's a clever one!

[marinadelosmares]

I hope folks don't place undue expectations on Obama to get the olimpics for Chicago. Honestly, I don't think it is the top contender, just the thought of dealing w/US security meassures, must give an ulcer to the IOC comittee. Besides, Rio is a way hotter contender, much more welcoming

[DrBritesnide]

The stup!d!ty of ZenDiagram.
This is an example of the ilk who want to take back America.

"Actions. Open speech, when not concerning national secrets conveyed to you due to your position with the government, can rarely be legally considered treasonous."

"The U.S. Constitution is the social contract that we live under. Period. And it says an individual is perfectly within his rights to open carry firearm."

"You're the ones trying to classify genuine whackadoodles as being representative of your political opposition, not me." "Well, that's not the way our legal system works, Sparky."

"Actually, what's described in the Baucus bill is precisely what I would consider a "death panel."

"Treason requires an action, not simply speech. Sorry."

"Umm. You used the phrase "petrol." Are you an American citizen? And if not, why are you trying to call this man? Sorry, not too many American citizens use the phrase "petrol."

"Why all the outrage? He's an outspoken opponent of abortion, and considers it murder. I'm not going to argue whether it is or whether it's not, but he clearly makes that association, as do a great many other folks in this country."

"They are correct. What the federal government is trying to do is a blatant violation of their constitutional role"

"This is a ploy by the Democrats to call their plan "bipartisan" to hopefully forestall a repeal of this monstrosity when the control shifts back to the Republicans."

[FGDinVA]

Did you post this to the wrong thread? What does it mean anyway? Just asking.

[Gabbie]

Allowing people being to bring firearms to bars is insane. They get into enough trouble without carrying guns to bars. This is just another way of promoting violence. Americans carry their rights to the Second Amendment too far. Doesn't this take you back to the Wild,Wild West? For a country that prides itself on being forward, this is proof that it is moving backwards in time.

[Observer963]

Thank you Gabbie. I agree with you 100%.