USA Wins Olympic Naivete Gold; Media Leads Off, Obama Runs Anchor

The next Olympic Games are still a few months off, the Winter fest in Canada in 2010, but the good ole USA has already won it's first gold medal. In the naivete competition we are the Usain Bolt of nations.

Following Rio's selection as the host of the 2016 Summer Games, the outpouring of "shock and awe" in the U.S., as one American pundit put it, was tsunami-like. In fact, the reportage of Chicago's "defeat" surpassed that of an actual tsunami in the Samoan Islands. Roll that DVR of nightly newscasts from Fox to CNN to MSNBC to any of the three "majors" and that's what you're going to see.

"My goodness what happened?" an earnest Charlie Gibson asked. "Chicago was the favorite," said Katie and Brian.

Really? Says who? You? And they're off and running!

Turns out the Olympics and the politics that go with them have been a particularly favorite topic of mine. My first Olympic 'experience' came in 1960, and my professional reporting on them began in the early 1970s. Remember the Denver Winter Olympics in 1976? Go ahead; look it up. For over 30 years I've either reported on or attended the Olympic Games. I've watched as East German women with a distinct five o'clock shadow have put the shot farther than most of their "male" competitors. I've teared up a little when the USA hockey team beat Russia in Lake Placid, and I've watched in awe as John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists in defiance. Can I tell you a secret? Chicago was never the favorite, even if Oprah thought it was.

The reasons are not difficult to figure out. All it takes is a quick understanding of how the International Olympic Committee votes, who the 100 IOC voters are, and which way the international wind is blowing. It is a political competition, not a sporting one. It is a game of intrigue, and one that is more or less corruptible if you know how to play it. One of the few times a U.S. city actually tried to compete was with the Salt Lake City bid. They won the Games, and ended up with officials going to jail. We can also blame that effort for the ascendency of Mitt Romney. Take that anyway you like.

Following the SLC bidding debacle, the IOC reformed its rules, but there was no washing away the bad taste it had in its mouth from the pounding the American press and Congress gave it in the aftermath. I could go on, but you can find this all out for yourself if you're interested. And that's the point. Why didn't Charlie, and Katie and Brian and all those other folks know it? Because either they didn't bother to look, or they didn't want to know. Naivete. It's so much more fun to buy the hype than it is to explore the reality.

Which brings us to the President. A couple of things first. Whether he goes to Denmark or not, Chicago is not going to win. So in a "damned if he does, damned if he doesn't" scenario, he went. Made a quick speech, kissed his wife and went on to other, some would say, more important things. No worries. Second, you should know for purposes of this piece that Barack Obama was not my first choice for President. I've dressed left my entire life; the first political discussions I can remember are listening to my father try to explain the policies of Adlai Stevenson and why there were good for America.

But experience has taught me through the terms of now ten Presidents that what really counts is what gets done, not which party does it. So while thrilled with the elegance, thoughtfulness, clarity and apparent honesty of Barack Obama, I was looking for someone whom I thought could get things done in Washington D.C. I do not have the luxury of as many years as I once did to hope change happens, and after wandering in the political wasteland as a country for the last decade I was yearning for action. LBJ can pick his dog up by the ears for all I care, as long as he gets the Civil Rights Act passed and signed. You catch my drift?

My candidate did not win the nomination and in the "pick one or the other" world of American Democracy, we, the people, selected the best man available for the job. He won big. He has a majority in Congress, even if the final piece is a comedian from Minnesota, so let's get something done. He's the favorite! He's going to change things! He's from Chicago and you know they're going to have the Olympics! Oh.

As noble as the desire is for reaching across the aisle and bi-partisanship it's simply time to make things happen. As Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican, of South Carolina said, "We lost, and there are consequences." And no matter what those "nattering nabobs of negativism" like Limbaugh, Beck, and O'Reilly like to think or say, or how many of their ilk can be stuffed in that right turning only clown car, and no matter how virulent those incessant forwarded emails are from your relatives regarding every move Obama makes or doesn't make, and no matter how it might look, I say if you have a hammer, use it. And in that is likely the President's biggest test. Can he control his own toolbox? Can he get Pelosi and Reid to deliver? You honestly believe in a public option for health care, Mr. President? Make it happen. Grab your dog by the ears. Go to Iran in a bold gesture. But let's not be naive. The Olympic oath is a wonderful thing, but do you remember the oath or do you remember Michael Phelps?

Oh, one suggestion for Chicago if it ever decides to bid again. Have Oprah block off a street in Copenhagen and give everybody in the audience a new car. Of course, only invite the IOC.

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Comments

[BOin08]

Blaming Obama for "losing" the Olympics is ridiculous. Chicago didn't "lose" it either. Rio was the obvious choice and the timing was perfect. However, I'll agree that POTUS putting himself in the mix was certainly poor judgment. I'm sure his staff and advisors thought it was a done deal -reminiscence of Bush's "Mission Complete" sign hanging on the aircraft carrier. Don't show up to take credit for the win until the game is over.

[BlackJAC]

I'm tired of the Olympics and all the posturing and hype that always comes with it.

[rlugbill]

I have also been involved in the Olympics for years. The IOC is a very political organization, but not in the way everyone in the U.S. thinks of "political". It has little to do with the sort of right-left, dem vs. republican politics that dominates the U.S. media.

It has absolutely nothing to do with who the U.S. president is or which political party he is from. All these silly comments about Obama are way off the point. Obama had little to do with the outcome one way or the other.

The IOC wants to move the Olympics around the world and is always interested in having it on different continents. North America and Europe always put up good bids, but there have been so many Olympics on those continents, they have an uphill battle. Think of it as affirmative action for the Olympics.

If a good bid comes in from places other than Europe or North America, they will look at it very closely. If it's a good bid and there is nothing wrong with it, it will beat any European or North American entry. Rio had a good bid and the Olympics had never been held in South America, so it would have been a big upset for North America to get it again.

Anyway, it's not really a negative for Chicago. IChicago would have hosted a fine Olympics. It's just that South America deserved to have the Olympics for once.

[JJThinking]

Hopefully, this episode will teach people to take what is reported in the MSM with a grain of salt. By the way, these are the same outlets that declared the public option dead...

[GHO]

My suspicion is that the networks "bought the hype" because they watch their own fawning newscasts. They believed that the world (and thus the IOC) loves Obama as much as they do, so the IOC would just genuflect to Obama and give him the games if he showed up.
I agree completely that Chicago had no chance for several reasons, some of which are not mentioned in the article. Let's not forget that we are just days removed from a viral video circling the world of a Chicago teen being beaten to death by a street gang. Let's also recall that the US has hosted 4 of the last 16 games.
I can not fault Obama for pulling for his country and his city, but I wonder where his advisors were to stop him from actualy going. Politically, this was not a wise move, as he now indeed, does look a bit humbled by the "loss". It also opened him up to criticism of misplaced priorities. His heart was in the right place, but his advisors should have talked him out of the trip.

[Jerkyman]

Clearly the IOC is a racist organisation.

[markg1956]

All those lost chances for payoffs and political favors wil certainly hurt the local
economy. Guess it's back to raiding the stimulus funding.

[morgan1]

Some Americans are always "shocked and awed" when we don't get our way and they sit there with their thumbs in their mouths (And elsewhere) wondering WTF! I mean, let's get real here, all those crybabies need to read our history just for the last five years to see where we stand in the eyes of the global community, and why.

[WilliamP]

"It's so much more fun to buy the hype than it is to explore the reality."

Is it that surprising? In the most religious industrialized nation in the world, which elected a bungler like Bush to be president?

[bettygg]

For a long time it seemed Rio was the favorite - just because it was their time. Not sure why the media tried to say Chicago was, unless they simply were trying to create a better news story. Hard to figure the media these days....

[Ivriniel]

No offense, but the US does tend to play itself up when it comes to the Olympics. Remember the Waitress and the Truck Driver figure skating team? The American media was all over that story, even though they didn't stand a chance of medalling.

[NorthSide]

I am curious about one thing: Why Oprah? She is big in North America (to say nothing about being big in her own bathtub), but has anybody in Europe ever heard of her? Does her clout extend beyond our shores? I have an image of one of those decaying aristocrats who run the IOC seeing her and saying something like..."Opera? Like Tosca or Aida? Vy doesn't she sing zomtink? Ach, this is fersluginer. I shall vote for Rio mit the nice young ladies in the thongs..."

[Carsy]

Well, this just shows how naive the MSM is in this country. Chicago was never the favorite, Rio was chosen long before any delegates from the IOC arrived in Denmark. Obama made a pitch, probably knowing it wouldn't work but he tried. Why didn't anyone blame Bush when New York City didn't win their bid? Where was the MSM then?

[skialethia]

First of all: you can't sell an Olympics to the world when you're hating the President and pushing for a military coup! This kind of hatred, big0try and divisiveness just doesn't mesh with the Olympic spirit! The world is definitely not that naive!

Secondly, Madrid and Rio's presentations far surpassed Chicago's excluding Obama's earnest pitch. The problem has less to do with naivite and more to do with arrogance and a sense of entitlement. America has lost its superiority in the world thanks to the policies of the Bush Administration and the present bitterness and hatred that is keeping us from moving forward in spite of Obama.

America has a new President and had a chance to regain its prestige in the world, but what happened? The Bush syndrome happened. Just like Bush squandered all the good will he and the country got after 9ll, the right wing radicals in this country are squandering a golden opportunity to rise from the ashes of the past 8 years by throwing every obstacle possible in the way of this President!

Congratulations, you are succeeding at bringing him down bit by bit...AND DESTROYING THE COUNTRY FURTHER in the process!

[Alan Kennedy]

As Chicago was the only bid that made no commitment to use public funds to bankroll the Olympics it is no surprise it was rolled in the first ballot. The IOC was not happy with LA or Atlanta which lacked Government backing. They like it when the Olympics are funded by the taxpayers of the country in which it is held.
And really who can begrudge Rio first south American country and an emerging economic power house.'
By the way the heads of state of all the finalists were in Copenhagen it no big deal and no shame to lose.
Obama done good; home town boy and girl go into bat for their city. What would people have said if he hadn't gone?

[yuhaniz]

i expected chicago to come in a face saving 2nd place. however, this is a blesing in disguise. obama looks weak, naive and egotistical. he is forced to prove otherwise by scoring a big win quickly and the only way is HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM. so i expect him to finally tune out repubs and do the right thing.