Chicago Eliminated As Olympic Host City

Foxrac said:
It's FALSE, crime rate in Chicago has been declining in over years and murder rate is lower as 1960's, Chicago is more safer than in Rio.

IOC hasn't say about why Chicago eliminated so crime isn't one of them.
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:slap: don't ever pay attention to sara!
 
Thank You, Mr. President
Count me as one conservative who is disappointed that President Obama's hometown will not be hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.

Chicago is a beautiful city that would have made a perfect backdrop for the Olympics. The President was right to fly to Copenhagen to try to land the games, not for the sake of his city, but for the good of his country. The fact President Obama failed makes me respect him more for taking the chance, and the fact many right-wing figures opposed the President's mission shows just how narrow-minded partisanship makes us all.

For the better part of 20 years, a bitterness has infected our politics that has weakened our country.

We Republicans spent eight years trying to delegitimize Bill Clinton.

Democrats spent the next eight years doing the same to George W. Bush.

Now that a Democrat is in the Oval Office again, it is the GOP who is trying to delegitimize a sitting president.

When I try to talk to Republicans about the need to break this cycle of viciousness, some cite the chapter and verse of every hateful left wing attack against George W. Bush.

Whenever I attempt to have a conversation with some Democrats about the need for us respect our president-- whether he be an Obama or a Bush-- I am told that Bush deserved whatever he got because he was a lying war criminal who hated the Constitution and loved torturing
people.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of Americans who believe we cannot continue going on this way.

You and I may disagree on how the CIA handled terror suspects. But that does not mean that you are soft on terrorism anymore than it means that I hate the Constitution.

You and I may have a different approach to Afghanistan. But just because you want to stay there another five years doesn't mean you are an imperialist. And if I believe a decade in that forsaken land is more than enough, that doesn't mean I'm soft on al Qaeda or the Taliban.

It just means that we view the world differently.

That creative tension--that intense give and take--has been what has kept America strong since Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton fought like hell in George Washington's White House.

Hamilton wanted a strong centralized government while Jefferson believed that the government that governed least governed best.

Both men were frustrated by the checks and balances that stood in the way of their agendas, but that debate shaped America for years to come.

But something has gone terribly wrong.

Today on Morning Joe, NBC News Legend Tom Brokaw remarked to Pat Buchanan about how the level of partisanship is even more intense today than during the depths of the Watergate crisis. Brokaw was commenting on Congressman Grayson's comments, but he could have easily
been talking about Joe Wilson or death panels or the bizarre claim that the President "hates all white people."

Some of the rhetoric is dangerous. But what we saw from some conservative corners regarding the President's failed Olympics bid was just plain stupid.

I'm happy for Rio and think it is past time that South America got a chance to host the Olympic Games. But put me down as one conservative who is glad my president flew across the ocean to try to bring the 2016 Games to America.

Nice try, President Obama. And thanks for taking time away from your young girls for the sake of your hometown and your country, Michelle. I know that's never an easy thing to do.
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The Politics of Spite
There was what President Obama likes to call a teachable moment last week, when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.

“Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful.” “World Rejects Obama,” gloated the Drudge Report. And so on.

So what did we learn from this moment? For one thing, we learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old.

But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.

To be sure, while celebrating America’s rebuff by the Olympic Committee was puerile, it didn’t do any real harm. But the same principle of spite has determined Republican positions on more serious matters, with potentially serious consequences — in particular, in the debate over health care reform.

Now, it’s understandable that many Republicans oppose Democratic plans to extend insurance coverage — just as most Democrats opposed President Bush’s attempt to convert Social Security into a sort of giant 401(k). The two parties do, after all, have different philosophies about the appropriate role of government.

But the tactics of the two parties have been different. In 2005, when Democrats campaigned against Social Security privatization, their arguments were consistent with their underlying ideology: they argued that replacing guaranteed benefits with private accounts would expose retirees to too much risk.

The Republican campaign against health care reform, by contrast, has shown no such consistency. For the main G.O.P. line of attack is the claim — based mainly on lies about death panels and so on — that reform will undermine Medicare. And this line of attack is utterly at odds both with the party’s traditions and with what conservatives claim to believe.

Think about just how bizarre it is for Republicans to position themselves as the defenders of unrestricted Medicare spending. First of all, the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan — and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare’s creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.) In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich tried to force drastic cuts in Medicare financing. And in recent years, Republicans have repeatedly decried the growth in entitlement spending — growth that is largely driven by rising health care costs.

But the Obama administration’s plan to expand coverage relies in part on savings from Medicare. And since the G.O.P. opposes anything that might be good for Mr. Obama, it has become the passionate defender of ineffective medical procedures and overpayments to insurance companies.

How did one of our great political parties become so ruthless, so willing to embrace scorched-earth tactics even if so doing undermines the ability of any future administration to govern?

The key point is that ever since the Reagan years, the Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.

Anyone surprised by the venomous, over-the-top opposition to Mr. Obama must have forgotten the Clinton years. Remember when Rush Limbaugh suggested that Hillary Clinton was a party to murder? When Newt Gingrich shut down the federal government in an attempt to bully Bill Clinton into accepting those Medicare cuts? And let’s not even talk about the impeachment saga.

The only difference now is that the G.O.P. is in a weaker position, having lost control not just of Congress but, to a large extent, of the terms of debate. The public no longer buys conservative ideology the way it used to; the old attacks on Big Government and paeans to the magic of the marketplace have lost their resonance. Yet conservatives retain their belief that they, and only they, should govern.

The result has been a cynical, ends-justify-the-means approach. Hastening the day when the rightful governing party returns to power is all that matters, so the G.O.P. will seize any club at hand with which to beat the current administration.

It’s an ugly picture. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth anyone trying to find solutions to America’s real problems has to understand.
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Joe Scarborough Slams Rush Limbaugh for Cheering Failed Olympic Bid
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, host and Republican Joe Scarborough drilled Rush Limbaugh for cheering Chicago’s failed 2016 Olympic bid. Scarborough said, “I will tell you middle Americans that swing elections see that and go oh my God Republicans have gone off the deep end.”

After it was announced that Chicago did not get the Olympic bid, Limbaugh said, “Obama been "running around the world for nine months telling everybody how much our country sucks. He's been running around the world apologizing for the United States of America. Why would anybody award the Olympics to such a crappy place as the United States of America?"

Scarborough replied, “I actually wrote something this weekend just asking a very simple question. What would have happened if liberals cheered had cheered against the United States getting the Olympics?...I would like Rush Limbaugh to tell me who is he helping there other than Rush Limbaugh, because I will tell you, middle Americans, Rush is smarter than that. Middle Americans that swing elections see that, and go oh my God, Republicans have gone off the deep end.”

While talking to Katty Kay of the BBC, Scarborough continued, “I was disheartened over the past eight years. If I was Paul Krugman, I probably wouldn’t cast stones regarding blind ideologues, but over the past eight years Democrats hated everything that Bush did. Bush was called Nazi, socialist, etc. etc. Now it’s turned, and now it’s Barack Obama. We Republicans did it to Bill Clinton for eight years. It always seems that one side feels the need to delegitimize the other side. This can not be helpful to our political process.”

Scarborough wrapped up the segment with, “You know what’s so interesting is, Katty makes a great point. About 40% of Americans call themselves conservative. Twenty percent of Americans call themselves liberal. This isn’t like the old split in the Republican Party where you used to have moderate Republicans against conservative Republicans. This has nothing to do with ideology. This has to do with the harshness of rhetoric. This is just intemperate people versus temperate people. It’s disgusting.”

Joe Scarborough is an endangered species. He is a non-radicalized Republican. I disagree with the vast majority of Scarborough’s stances on policy, but he understands that cheering a failed Olympic bid by a U.S. city does not help the GOP. The political environment was absolutely toxic during the Clinton/Bush years, and as a consequence, nothing significant and lasting survived the legislative process.

Republicans have learned this lesson, and are trying to poison the well again to stop Obama. Scarborough is correct when he looks at the big picture and concludes that the rhetoric of Beck and Limbaugh doesn’t help the political process or the Republican Party. The big winners here are Beck and Limbaugh. I can see conservative talk radio’s cheering against America being used in campaign ads in 2010 and 2012.

I am certain that talk radio has gone off the deep end, but I am not sure if this translates to the Republican Party in the minds of American voters yet. I can see Democrats trying to make that connection for them, and if they are successful, they could absolutely bury the Republican Party. Republicans need to start listening to Scarborough’s warnings, and stop follow Beck and Limbaugh off the political cliff.
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Tsk, tsk. True natures and motives are coming out. And it certainly isn't pretty.:cool2:
 
Jiro said:
I'm assuming you've never seen Jon Stewart's show either. You do know that he's famous for political rimshot? It's all for satrical purpose... not meant to be taken as fact or any such. FIY - his show is usually for those who are well-versed with news.

Calm down :)
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sighhhhhhhhhh, Jiro. You like to assume things on a regular basis, do ya?

I listen and watch clips of those shows over the internet all the time. Colbert's, Stewart's, Leno's, OBrien's, Letterman's, SNLs, etc. etc... YouTube and other video sources are a time saver when it comes to listening to short segments of their shows. Just like Stewart's 9 minutes video about the Olympics. Bloggers regularly embedd these short clips or link them to corporate sites that have these clips.

Don't pat yourself too hard on your back.
 
No bs. No audio on my end. I linked to Stewart's short quip...not the video. It wasn't about the video I was interested in but his quip. Which it I thought he nailed it on the head.
 
Mod's Note:

Alright you guys, let's play nice and stay on topic.

Thank you.
 
kokonut said:
Who would've thunk? "Chicago Nope"
Tower Ticker: Jon Stewart explains Chicago 2016 IOC defeat
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Up to 1:39

(Cheering from the Audience)

Jon Stewart: Hey, everybody. Thank you very much. Welcome to the Daily Show. Thank you! Thank you! I apologize in advance; I have a sore throat and my voice is not particularly strong tonight. We have a good show for you tonight, no matter what. The always witty, Sarah Vowel, will be joining with us tonight. You know, Sarah Vowel is so popular she started a 'vowel' movement. Started a 'vowel'...

(Laughter from crowd)

Jon: We begin tonight with a big story that rocked the world on Friday: Chicago failed in its attempts to get the 2016 Olympics even though the representative we sent was the most powerful person in the country (shot of Oprah) and Barack and Michelle Obama (a shot of Barack and Michelle as Barack walks across to the podium to deliver a message to the IOC as Jon Stewart does a voice-over). Man, those 3 could sell shampoo to Patrick Stewart. They could could sell leg warmers to the frozen head of Ted Williams. Alright...


Obama: (Standing behind a podium delivering his speech to IOC)
There is nothing I would like more than to step just a few blocks form my family's home with Michelle and our two girls and welcome the world back into our neighborhood.

Jon: That's the pitch? That's the big pitch? 'Let's have the Olympics in Chicago -- that way I don't have to drive'?" You gotta- you gotta give it some...'umph' some 'zing'
 
Just for the record:

Obama's remarks to the International Olympic Committee. Transcript
By
Lynn Sweet
on October 2, 2009 3:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As delivered....

October 2, 2009

Remarks of President Barack Obama -

To the International Olympic Committee

Copenhagen, Denmark

October 2, 2009

President Rogge, ladies and gentlemen of the International Olympic Committee:

I come here today as a passionate supporter of the Olympic and Paralympic Games;
as a strong believer in the movement they represent; and a proud Chicagoan. But
above all, I come as a faithful representative of the American people, and we
look forward to welcoming the world to the shores of Lake Michigan and the
heartland of our nation in 2016.

To host athletes and visitors from every corner of the globe is a high honor and
a great responsibility. And America is ready and eager to assume that sacred
trust. We are a nation that has always opened its arms to the citizens of the
world - including my own father - who have sought something better; who have
dreamed of something bigger.

I know you face a difficult choice among several great cities and nations with
impressive bids of their own. So I've come here today to urge you to choose
Chicago for the same reasons I chose Chicago nearly twenty-five years ago - the
reasons I fell in love with the city I still call home. And it's not only
because it's where I met the woman you just heard from - though after getting to
know her this week, I'm sure you'd all agree that she's a pretty big selling
point.

You see, growing up, my family moved around a lot. And I never really had roots
in any one place or culture or ethnic group. Then I came to Chicago. And on
those Chicago streets, I worked alongside men and women who were black and
white; Latino and Asian; people of every class and nationality and religion. I
came to discover that Chicago is that most American of American cities, but one
where citizens from more than 130 nations inhabit a rich tapestry of distinctive
neighborhoods.

Each one of those neighborhoods - from Greektown to the Ukrainian Village; from
Devon to Pilsen to Washington Park - has its own unique character, history,
song, and sometimes language. But each is also a part of our city - one city -
a city where I finally found a home.

Chicago is a place where we strive to celebrate what makes us different just as
we celebrate what we have in common. It's a place where our unity is on
colorful display at so many festivals, parades, and especially sporting events,
where perfect strangers become fast friends at the sight of the same jersey.
It's a city that works - from its first World's Fair more than a century ago to
the World Cup we hosted in the nineties, we know how to put on big events. And
scores of visitors and spectators will tell you that we do it well.

Chicago is a city where the practical and the inspirational exist in harmony;
where visionaries who made no small plans rebuilt after a great fire and taught
the world to reach new heights. It's a bustling metropolis with the warmth of a
small town; where the world already comes together every day to live and work
and reach for a dream - a dream that no matter who we are or where we're from;
no matter what we look like or what hand life has dealt us, with hard work, and
discipline, and dedication, we can make it if we try.

That's not just the American Dream. That is the Olympic spirit. That's why we
see so much of ourselves in these Games. And that's why we want them in
Chicago. That's why we want them in America.

We stand at a moment in history when the fate of each nation is inextricably
linked to the fate of all nations - a time of common challenges that require a
common effort. And I ran for President because I believed deeply that at this
defining moment, the United States of America has a responsibility to help lead
that effort, and to forge new partnerships with the nations and peoples of the
world.

No one expects the Games to solve our collective challenges. But we do believe
that in a world where we have too often witnessed the darker aspects of our
humanity, peaceful competition between nations represents what is best about our
humanity. It brings us together, if only for a few weeks, face to face. It
helps us understand one another just a little better. It reminds us that no
matter how or where we differ, we all seek our own measure of happiness, and
fulfillment, and pride in what we do. And that is a very powerful starting
point for progress.

Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the
world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch
the results of the U.S. Presidential election. Their interest wasn't about me
as an individual. Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America's experiment
in democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and ideals. It
sprung from the hope that in this ever-shrinking world, our diversity could be a
source of strength and cause for celebration; and that with sustained work and
determination, we could learn to live and prosper together during the fleeting
moment we share on this Earth.

That work is far from over, but it has begun in earnest. And while we do not
know what the next few years will bring, there is nothing I would like more than
to step just a few blocks from my family's home and welcome the world back to
our neighborhood.

At the beginning of this new century, the nation that has been shaped by people
from around the world wants a chance to inspire it once more; to ignite the
spirit of possibility at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic movement in a
new generation; to offer a stage worthy of the extraordinary talent and dynamism
offered by nations joined together - to host games that unite us in noble
competition and shared celebration of our limitless potential as a people.

And so I urge you to choose Chicago. I urge you to choose America. And if you
do; if we walk this path together; then I promise you this: the city of Chicago
and the United States of America will make the world proud. Thank you.
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Obama's remarks to the International Olympic Committee. Transcript - Lynn Sweet
 
For the record:

Michelle Obama's pitch to the International Olympics Committee. Transcript
By
Lynn Sweet
on October 2, 2009

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the First Lady

October 2, 2009

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY

TO THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

Bella Center

Copenhagen, Denmark


MRS. OBAMA: President Rogge, ladies and gentlemen, Mesdames et Messieurs of the
International Olympic Committee: I am honored to be here.

I was born and raised on Chicago's South Side, not far from where the Games
would open and close. Ours was a neighborhood of working families -- families
with modest homes and strong values.

Sports were what brought our community together. They strengthen our ties to
one another.

Growing up, when I played games with the kids in my neighborhood, we picked
sides based not on who you were, but what you could bring to the game. Sports
taught me self-confidence, teamwork, and how to compete as an equal.

Sports were a gift I shared with my dad -- especially the Olympic Games.

Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and
Nadia, Carl Lewis, and others for their brilliance and perfection. Like so many
young people, I was inspired. I found myself dreaming that maybe, just maybe,
if I worked hard enough, I, too, could achieve something great.

But I never dreamed that the Olympic flame might one day light up lives in my
neighborhood.

But today, I can dream, and I am dreaming of an Olympic and Paralympic Games in
Chicago that will light up lives in neighborhoods all across America and all
across the world; that will expose all our neighborhoods to new sports and new
role models; that will show every child that regardless of wealth, or gender, or
race, or physical ability, there is a sport and a place for them, too.

That's why I'm here today. I'm asking you to choose Chicago. I'm asking you to
choose America.

And I'm not asking just as the First Lady of the United States, who is eager to
welcome the world to our shores. And not just as a Chicagoan, who is proud and
excited to show the world what my city can do. Not just as a mother raising two
beautiful young women to embrace athleticism and pursue their full potential.

I'm also asking as a daughter.

See, my dad would have been so proud to witness these Games in Chicago. And I
know they would have meant something much more to him, too.

You see, in my dad's early thirties, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
And as he got sicker, it became harder for him to walk, let alone play his
favorite sports. But my dad was determined that sports continue to be a vital
lifeline -- not just to the rest of the world, but to me and my brother.

And even as we watched my dad struggle to hold himself up on crutches, he never
stopped playing with us. And he refused to let us take our abilities for
granted. He believed that his little girl should be taught no less than his
son. So he taught me how to throw a ball and a mean right hook better than any
boy in my neighborhood. But more importantly, my dad taught us the fundamental
rules of the game, rules that continue to guide our lives today: to engage with
honor, with dignity, and fair play.

My dad was my hero.

And when I think of what these Games can mean to people all over the world, I
think about people like my dad. People who face seemingly insurmountable
challenges, but never let go. They work a little harder, but they never give
up.

Now, my dad didn't live to see the day that the Paralympic Games would become
the force that they are today. But if he had lived to see this day -- if he
could have seen the Paralympic Games share a global stage with the Olympic
Games, if he could have witnessed athletes who compete and excel and prove that
nothing is more powerful than the human spirit, I know it would have restored in
him the same sense of unbridled possibility that he instilled in me.

Chicago's vision for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement is about so more than
what we can offer the Games -- it's about what the Games can offer all of us.
It's about inspiring this generation, and building a lasting legacy for the
next. It's about our responsibility as Americans not just to put on great
Games, but to use these Games as a vehicle to bring us together; to usher in a
new era of international engagement; and to give us hope; and to change lives
all over the world.

And I've brought somebody with me today who knows a little something about
change. My husband, the President of the United States -- Barack Obama.
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Michelle Obama's pitch to the International Olympics Committee. Transcript - Lynn Sweet
 
Bramus said:
Up to 1:39

(Cheering from the Audience)

Jon Stewart: Hey, everybody. Thank you very much. Welcome to the Daily Show. Thank you! Thank you! I apologize in advance; I have a sore throat and my voice is not particularly strong tonight. We have a good show for you tonight, no matter what. The always witty, Sarah Vowel, will be joining with us tonight. You know, Sarah Vowel is so popular she started a 'vowel' movement. Started a 'vowel'...

(Laughter from crowd)

Jon: We begin tonight with a big story that rocked the world on Friday: Chicago failed in its attempts to get the 2016 Olympics even though the representative we sent was the most powerful person in the country (shot of Oprah) and Barack and Michelle Obama (a shot of Barack and Michelle as Barack walks across to the podium to deliver a message to the IOC as Jon Stewart does a voice-over). Man, those 3 could sell shampoo to Patrick Stewart. They could could sell leg warmers to the frozen head of Ted Williams. Alright...


Obama: (Standing behind a podium delivering his speech to IOC)
There is nothing I would like more than to step just a few blocks form my family's home with Michelle and our two girls and welcome the world back into our neighborhood.

Jon: That's the pitch? That's the big pitch? 'Let's have the Olympics in Chicago -- that way I don't have to drive'?" You gotta- you gotta give it some...'umph' some 'zing'
Click to expand...

:ty: for transcript. A very obvious thing that Jon took it out of context and specific selected a scene with a line just for zing purpose. That's what he gets paid for - to create a mockery and to make people laugh. His show is to be not taken literally.
 
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