BBC reports! "A very very loud gasp here."
Live stream at the link.
AND: Tokyo out too.
The Obama magic has truly fizzled. All that glamorous traveling.... and the backlash against it.
October 2, 2009
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 277 of 277Amen, DBQ. GM and Chrysler will never see any of my dollars either.
New York City is gorgeous. I love both NY and Chicago, but prefer NY.
I live in Chevy Truck country. More GM cars and trucks than any other vehicles on the road.
Unusual for California, where for decades the F-series pickup outsold its GM counterparts 1.5-2:1. The F-series vied with the Toyota Camry for most popular vehicle. The Silverado did catch up in the past two years however.
ROFLMAO!
Has the shine come off of the Narcissist-in-Chief's rose yet?
Hard to tell how significant today's defeat is for Obama. Let's not forget that Pelosi and Reid have to keep the troops in line, all of them, to pass Obamacare. How many wavering Dems will endanger their own political futures for a laughingstock?
This guy has no flippin' clue of the value of the currency of the presidency of the US. None. Zero.
What a loser he is. Good Lord. He's shaping up as the worst president of my lifetime and there's stiff competition from Jimmy Carter there.
Hey Darce, you have my okay to say something bad about a person, a place, anything.
Just kidding, I know you don't have the mean bone. ;^)
Chicago. Too corrupt for the IOC!
I don't know, Darcy. New York's got some charms, and it's safer than Chicago, but it's too crowded, too expensive, and there's nothing like Chicago's lake effect in NY.
Also, it's too hard to find a decent, open grocery story in NY after 10:00 p.m. The city that never sleeps really kind of shuts down pretty early.
When's Jeremy getting here? I guess he is not done swabbing the college's toilet bowls.
If health care will be Obama's Waterloo, what does that make Olympics4Chicago? Not a big enough loss for a Stalingrad. More like a Guadacanal. The first big loss in a hopefully continuing long string of losses. Lets just hope no more Americans are lost as Obama barrels along toward exile.
Aww, ricpic. :) (And I wish that were true! Don't go digging, now. lol)
Kensington: Well, you have a better perspective than my touristy visits, I'm sure. But there isn't anywhere like NYC for me so far.
Rabel With A Cause said:
"The really important thing is that this gives home court advantage and more TV time to the Brazilian Women's Beach Volleyball team."
Dude,
If you're going to discuss the Brazilian Women's Beach Volleyball team, remember ... this is the internet.
LINK:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=Brazilian%20Women%27s%20Beach%20Volleyball%20team&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
the ever-predictable fls takes an unwarranted shot at Mormons -- a conservative group
Unwarranted? Where've you been dude? The Salt Lake Olympic scandal is well known -- Mitt Romney saved the day. Most of the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee -- including the guy prosecuted for corruption -- were Mormons.
http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=505
We will never buy another car from Government Motors. Ever.
Ditto. I couldn't stop them from doing it, but I do have a way to express my disapproval.
@fivewheels
Apparently they'll still buy Fords, though (down only 5 percent). Which might tell us something about government's helpfulness in business.
To be fair, I wonder how much of this is similar to my situation. I bought Ford specifically because of what happened with the "auto bailouts". I've never owned a Ford in my life and would have been perfectly happy to buy another Infiniti (loved both that I've owned)...but the sheer arrogance of what happened compelled me to vote with my dollar.
My heart hurts over the GM comments. Understand them, though.
Way too close to home.
My heart hurts over the GM comments.
Why, Darcy?
Oh, my city was built around the GM plant here, Original Mike. Closed over this. I think all of our dealerships here, too. Two sisters and a brother-in-law work for GM.
A great big disaster for my state/area/family, in other words.
Sincerely sorry to hear that. Personally, I think if GM had gone through the backruptcy procedures available to them, things would have worked out in the end. As it is, I am very pessimistic for their future.
But hey, what do I know? Maybe I'm wrong. But they'll have to do it without me. As it is, buying GM would make me feel too much like an enabler.
fls wrote: "GM sales down 47%
Chrysler sales fall 44%"
No, their product design department did that. Do you read Consumer Reports? Chrysler consistently turns out the lowest ranked products, with GM not that far ahead.
Do you read anything relevant? In 2008 GM had 6 cars in the top 20 best sellers. No other company had as many. Chrysler has been out of it for years, but not as badly as under Obama's management.
I fear the answer might be that Obama is simply much more naive than many of us feared.
No. Many of us feared he would be just about exactly this naive
So not only did Jimmy Carter punish the American athletes in 1980, he punished the American olympic movement for decades to come.
Baracko Jimmy McCarter goes to Copenhagen.
Thanks, Mike. I totally understand. I struggle with that principle myself.
it is not about Obama. It is about the games. The political class and Obama himself made it about him.
14 years experience in working with the IOC tells me that the tone of the Chicago bid was an issue and that the Games themselves were not at the center of their thinking. It is all about the Games to the IOC.
No. Many of us feared he would be just about exactly this naive
Remember, the Jimmy Carter analogies were coming fast and furious before the election.
I can see dbq's point. For similar reasons, I will never take my banking business to any of these folks.
AIG Insurance Company N.Y. $69.8 billion
Freddie Mac Financial Services Company Va. $50.7 billion
[General Motors Auto Company Mich. $50.4 billion]
Citigroup Bank N.Y. $50 billion
Bank of America Bank N.C. $45 billion
Fannie Mae Financial Services Company D.C. $44.9 billion
Wells Fargo Bank Calif. $25 billion
[Chrysler Auto Company Mich. $12.5 billion
GMAC Financial Services Company Mich. $12.5 billion
PNC Financial Services Bank Pa. $7.6 billion
Bank of America, NA Mortgage Servicer Calif. $6 billion
SunTrust Bank Ga. $4.9 billion
Regions Financial Corp. Bank Ala. $3.5 billion
Fifth Third Bancorp Bank Ohio $3.4 billion
JPMorgan Chase, NA Mortgage Servicer N.J. $3.4 billion
Hartford Financial Services Insurance Company Conn. $3.4 billion
KeyCorp Bank Ohio $2.5 billion
GM Supplier Receivables, LLC Auto Company $2.5 billion
Wells Fargo Bank, NA Mortgage Servicer Iowa $2.4 billion
CIT Group Bank N.Y. $2.3 billion
Comerica Incorporated Bank Texas $2.3 billion
Marshall & Ilsley Bank Wis. $1.7 billion
Zions Bancorp Bank Utah $1.4 billion
Huntington Bancshares Bank Ohio $1.4 billion
American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc Mortgage Servicer Texas $1.3 billion
Discover Financial Services Financial Services Company Ill. $1.2 billion
CitiMortgage Mortgage Servicer Mo. $1.1 billion
GMAC Mortgage Mortgage Servicer Pa. $1 billion
Chrysler Receivables SPV LLC Auto Company (Parts Supplier) $1 billion
Synovus Financial Corp. Bank Ga. $967.9 million
Lincoln National Corporation Insurance Company Pa. $950 million
Popular, Inc. Bank Puerto Rico $935 million
First Horizon National Bank (Public) Tenn. $866.5 million
Litton Loan Servicing Mortgage Servicer Texas $774.9 million
Wachovia Mortgage, FSB Mortgage Servicer Iowa $719 million
HomEq Servicing Mortgage Servicer Calif. $674 million
OneWest Bank Mortgage Servicer Calif. $668.4 million
Select Portfolio Servicing Mortgage Servicer Utah $660.6 million
Saxon Mortgage Services Mortgage Servicer Texas $632 million
M&T Bank Corporation Bank N.Y. $600 million
fls wrote: "...the ever-predictable fls takes an unwarranted shot at Mormons -- a conservative group...."
Unwarranted? Where've you been dude? The Salt Lake Olympic scandal is well known....
Unwarranted in the sense of "gratuitous." You know. Sorta like the "Bush was worse" meme in response to every Obama misstep. Who cares what the Mormons did?
I'm not claiming that you do it knowingly, only that you do it and it's predictable.
"I fear the answer might be that Obama is simply much more naive than many of us feared"
Since his naivete has been glaringly obvious lately (e.g., Iran) if he's any more naive he'll need to be sent back to kindergarten.
@FLS
I can see dbq's point. For similar reasons, I will never take my banking business to any of these folks.
How very conservative of you to use the free market to punish (ie voting with your dollar) companies you don't like.
There's hope for you yet.
Now...if I can just get you to agree that men should be able to sign a legal "abortion" to give them their "choice" about reproduction, we'll be all the way there.
Adam Schaeffer's Top 10 Reasons Why Chicago Didn't Get the Olympics
10. Dead people can't vote at IOC meetings
9. Obama distracted by 25 min meeting with Gen. McChrystal
8. Who cares if Obama couldn't talk the IOC into Chicago ? He'll... be able to talk Iran out of nukes.
7. The impediment is Israel still building settlements.
6. Obviously no president would have been able to accomplish it.
5. We've been quite clear and said all along that we didn't want the Olympics.
4. This isn't about the number of Olympics "lost", it's about the number of Olympics "saved" or "created".
3. Clearly not enough wise Latina judges on the committee.
2. Because the IOC is racist.
1. It's George Bush's fault.
http://www.cato.org/people/adam-schaeffer
Cabrini Green, which, of course, is the single most notorious shithole in all of these United States
The person who wrote this probably has never been to Cabrini Green and knows nothing of Chicago's housing projects and their relative awfulness.
Obama needz moar cowbell.
@FLS - I agree. I own a GM car (Saab) and am not going to rush out and sell it. Likewise, I bank with M&I and am not going to rush out and close the account.
But I've been thinking of buying a new car and it won't be GM. And I've been thinking of changing to the credit union and I think that day just got a lot closer, too.
This is a needless fail. I still don't understand why he went if he didn't know Chicago would get it? If he hadn't gone, and Chicago was out in the first round, no big deal. But now, because he did go, it is a big deal.
Pelalusa: Heh. :)
(Loved your "Pelalusa" story.)
Do you read anything relevant? In 2008 GM had 6 cars in the top 20 best sellers.
My googleforce must be weak -- I could not find the top selling 20 cars listed for 2008. From the data I could find, only one American car broke the top ten, while three American pickups did.
Japan owns our passenger car market.
I think that's right too, Freeman. As much as I'm relieved the fix wasn't in...it's a puzzling failure.
Who cares what the Mormons did?
They were successful at bringing the Olympics to their home town, so "People who care about getting the Olympics to their home town" would care. The Mormons' key to success was spreading money around.
"Needless fail"
Good turn of a phrase Freeman.
Obama based his pitch on Chicago's "diversity" as if the rest of the world is as enamored of diversity as America is. I think the IOC looked at the 1996 Atlanta Summer games which also had diversity in hiring up the old wazoo. The problem was, along with that diversity also came lost Olympic buses and ignorant surly drivers. No wonder the IOC said "Phooey on that!" And frankly I'm glad they did. I'm tired of being embarrassed before the world by America's chip-on-shoulder nation.
@Freeman, yes and no. Yes it was a needless fail (great turn of phrase!) but by the 2012 elections no one will remember this.
On the other hand, did I miss it or did he not visit the areas of the South that were devastated by floods? I am assuming that our government is doing something to address the disasters in Samoa and Indonesia, but I don't see any information about that, either. Does Obama not care about humannitarian relief?
When it comes to inserting ourselves in international matters (not Honduras though!), I'm generally in favor of the fix being in.
DaveW said...
This guy has no flippin' clue of the value of the currency of the presidency of the US. None. Zero.
What a loser he is. Good Lord. He's shaping up as the worst president of my lifetime and there's stiff competition from Jimmy Carter there.
Don't forget Dubya and the deep damage he did to America with fiscal recklessness, indifference to the catastrophic damage to the US economy that happened on his watch because he became totally focused on "saving the noble Freedom Lovers of Iraq".
(The most popular Iraqi in the country is now the guy who threw sewage-encrusted shoes at Bush's dumb head.)
Right now, Jimmy is in the lead. But it takes decades to begin to objectively see how good or bad a President was, in many cases. So it is possible, though unlikely before Jimmy dies - that history may see Dubya or Obama as worse...
Chicagoans, be glad. The '96 Atlanta Olympics were a nightmare. Plus, we had Izzy, World's Worst Mascot.
Oh, come on, the LA Olympics was clearly the worst. Remember the break dancers? Truly blush-worthy. Even as a teenager I was like WTF.
Any Olympics with break dancers is, by definition, the best Olympics ever.
Jason-
Sorry this is really weird-sometimes the thread does not load a comment and I see it way afterwards-I don't know why that happens-but I notice that often.
Obama backs McChrystal-I won't mind one bit about this time factor issue.
Also I thought I read somewhere that we are suppose to get a decision on that-by a certain deadline-within a week or so-can't remember where I read that-so- he meets the deadline either way.
The health care bill?
I really don't see how passage of that is affected much by this trip.
On my computer it does that...gah!
Any Olympics with break dancers is, by definition, the best Olympics ever.
Fact.
+1 if Ozone and Turbo show up.
I used to be a big Olympics watcher. Couldn't get enough. Now, I don't think I've seen the Olympics since Atlanta, when I saw the shenanigans of the IOC up close and personal and was disgusted enough to never want to support them again. They're the biggest bunch of spoiled rotten international prima donnas you'll ever meet.
As to Obama, all I can say is it was a bad idea to go, a bad idea to talk the way he did, and a bad idea to fail. It was an own goal of the worst sort.
I am pleased that Obama's bid failed because it undercuts his incredible arrogance in thinking that he could command a decision by force of his own specialness. That kind of arrogance in a political leader has to be stopped.
Did you hear his and Michele's statements to the IOC? Their speeches were all about THEM, THEIR FATHERS, THEIR LIVES, WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO THEM!!!
Yikes. No wonder they got the least votes of the four cities. I am sure people were flabbergasted.
At least with Brazil getting the summer Olympics, we won't be embarrassed like we were in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics where half thet bus drivers got lost and the other half were surly.
One reason for our loss. Obama made a big mistake about pitching Chicago's fitness based on its diversity. America might be obsessed by diversity the rest of the world could care less. Now if he'd pitched Chicago's fitness based on its competence he might have gotten a little traction (at least until the IOC remembered our stunning lack of competence in Atlanta in 1996).
So Ann hates America too.
The backlash is going to be against the wingnuts here, not Obama.
You have absolutely no clue how real Americans feel when they see people like Ann cheering and ecstatic that Chicago (i.e. America) didn't get the vote.
Take a look at the Huffington Post Video. How do you think America is going to react to that?
Drudage said it all:
The Ego Has Landed.
Real question. Does Meade even have a college degree?
Downtown -- Isn't the worst part about this that Obama supports the Defense of Marriage Act?
Except he doesn't Seven. Obama opposes DOMA. But as the person who runs the executive branch, he is constitutionally required to enforce the laws that are on the books.
But you don't understand nuance, because you have an IQ of 80. And from this post, it also looks like you hate America.
New York City is gorgeous. I love both NY and Chicago, but prefer NY. - Darcy
That's nice. But anti-gay bigots like Darcy are not welcome in either city.
Downtown -- You know what's even worse is that you can't be openly gay and serve in the military. And that's true regardless of your level of education.
The real meaning of this rejection hit me. America is the opposite of Sally Field at the Oscars:
"They don't like us! They really don't like us!"
But Richie Daley still owes Obama big time -- Obama can call in a bunch of favors when the time comes. "One hand washes the other" should be on the city seal.
Yes Seven - But I can fuck your son when he turns 18.
The age of consent in Illinois is 17, Downtown.
However, I doubt my son would ever have sex with an old, sad, resentful person like you.
Let's be honest about something.
What really sank Chicago's bid was the video last week of a young man being beaten to death in the street. IOC members all saw that on their evening news.
Nobody will say it openly, but you know very well that was in the back of their minds-- it plays to the worst fears that people in other countries have about the United States.
If you want to blame anyone, blame the gang-bangers who put the worst face on Chicago at exactly the worst time they could have done it (not that any of them give a darn, other than the fact that they are all facing a murder rap.)
There is very little that Obama could have said to erase that image that was fresh in the back of everyone's mind.
Incidentally, knox (comment #200, in case you see this one):
Nothing has changed about the Olympics. It used to be that the summer and winter Olympics were both every four years in the same year. All they did was change it so the winter Olympics are in a different year than the summer Olympics but each competition is still four years apart.
Eli -- Ridiculous. Rio would have gotten the bid with or without the videotaped gang violence.
I mean, really. Don't go blaming some Drudge link. It is common knowledge that Rio's gang violence problem is substantially worse than Chicago's. And crime is far, far, far worse. You take your life into your own hands whenever you get into a taxi in that town.
Furthermore, I'm sure Knox knows that each Olympics is still four years apart.
Further furthermore, do you really think that a murder in Chicago made the "evening news" in, say, Spain and Burkina Faso and Uruguay, and wherever these IOC people live (or where their hotels are)?
Just silly.
Ouch! From Krauthammer:
""President Obama, I support the Americans' outstretched hand. But what did the international community gain from these offers of dialogue? Nothing." -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Sept. 24
When France chides you for appeasement, you know you're scraping bottom."
Ooof... ouch... yeech... that had to sting!
"Yes Seven - But I can fuck your son when he turns 18."
charming! is this guy a regular commenter??
ha, like this guy is a "top" anyway... too pissy and whiny. and no strapping young man in his prime is gonna wanna sodomize a tired worn out ol queen like this downtownlad... like throwing a hot dog into the holland tunnel as one of my gay friends would say...
man it took me forever to figure out how to see comments past number 200... anyway to fix this limit?
The video tape of the murder in Chicago made the BBC news. I don't know about Burkhina Faso, but then again, do you?
screw the olympics
dont really care one way or the other
what is worrying me is that he is completely inept
the only way he could justify going was that the fix was in... as it evidently wasn't... he betrays himself as a complete bumbling fool
cry my beloved country!
RIO DE JANEIRO - A police shootout with criminals stopped a commuter train and sent passengers fleeing for cover. Officers conducted a drug raid on a slum, keeping 2,000 children out of school. Police got into gun battles that killed more than a dozen suspected traffickers.
All this happened in early September, during the same week that the International Olympic Committee released a report giving generally high praise to Rio's bid for the 2016 Games.
It was hardly an unusual week in this city of 6 million, where major highways including one that links the international airport to key tourism beaches are periodically shut down by shootouts.
Source: allbusiness.com
Arguing that Rio got the nod over Chicago because of some isolated criminal incident is akin to me arguing that I am not a billionaire because I spent two dollars on some licorice tonight.
It is pleasant to think that some Machiavellan maneuver to raise the price of Chicago real estate was behind Obama's appearance. Such a maneuver would indicate some level of cunning and skill. No such luck. Obama appeared before the IOC for the same reason he appeared before the Security Council, the bicameral Congress, before the Greek columns. Obama simply cannot refrain from seeking out grandiose occasions to give Important Speeches about the Significance of Obama. Dollars to donuts he will address the next Academy Awards--perhaps give a lifetime achievement award to Michael Moore.....I get the sense that Obama is not doing his homework. He has spent more time speechifying about healthcare than actually working out an understandable plan. We do not need comprehensive health care reform; we need comprehensible health care reform. His rhetorical flourishes are as phony as the color of Daffy's hair.
I don't think we'll be getting a summer Olympics as long as the war on terror continues.
downtownlad: real question: does Meade even have a college degree?
Real question, lad: Were you born a jerk, or were your parents rich enough to get you tutoring?
Who cares if Meade has a college degree or not? College degree or no, it's extremely clear to me he can think circles around you.
Up your own game, and don't worry about whether other people have degrees, or pack more behind their zipper than you do.
C-fudd: Rio > Chicago because no Jooos. Also lots of 13-yo girls he can cheer on while his bud Polanski rapes them. Of course Fudd the aging boomer virgin could never get it up himself to do it. That's why Polanski is his hero in the first place.
Rio and Sao Paolo both have very vibrant Jewish communities.
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