About Those Olympics

I considered it strange that the right, and even some on the left, were criticizing Barack Obama for traveling to Copenhagen to support Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.  One thing this country needs right now is jobs, and the $20 billion plus in economic activity that hosting the games would generate would create a LOT of jobs.  I expected Rio to win for two reasons.  After the scandal arising from GOP dominated Utah’s bribery to get the 2002 winter games, and the subsequent shakeup in the IOC, that body already looks on the US with disfavor.  Also, no South American nation has ever hosted the games before.  But I figured it was still worth a try.  I knew it would not be Obama's fault, if we didn’t win.
However, when the IOC announced that  Rio had won the games, the cacophony of abject joy coming from Faux Noise and the rabid right shocked even me.  What do they have against America?  Why are they so glad that Chicago won’t get all those jobs.  They were openly revealing the true nature of their pseudo-patriotism, and it was ugly.  So I spent the next couple hours collecting a picture here and a quote there in preparation for this article.  Then I settled down to watch a little TV.  Rachel Maddow covered the same story, and dang that woman!! Not only is she far better looking than I am, but also, she had everything I had and more.  So instead of sharing my hodgepodge of notes, here’s her video.

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This morning, I learned something new.  It may be at least partially the GOP’s fault that Chicago was eliminated first.

...Chicago was eliminated during the first round and received the fewest votes. A New York Times article points out:

In the official question-and-answer session following the Chicago presentation, Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, asked the toughest question. He wondered how smooth it would be for foreigners to enter the United States for the Games because doing so can sometimes, he said, be “a rather harrowing experience.”

A “harrowing experience” may be an understatement. Immediately after 9/11, the Bush Administration began requiring fingerprints and photographs of tourists from all but 28 countries entering the US. President Bush required that all foreigners register online within three days of travel. Thirty-five (mostly European) countries now participate in the US Visa Waiver program, however tourists from the rest of the world still have to jump through the following hurdles:

• Pay hefty visa processing and issuance fees.
• Undergo an interview by a visa officer at the US Embassy.
• Provide evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, intent to depart the United States, and arrangements made to cover the costs of the trip may be provided.
• Present convincing evidence that an interested person will provide financial support if the applicant does not have sufficient funds to support him or herself.

The average wait for a US visa has risen to about three months. Brazil, which will host the 2016 Olympic summer games in Rio de Janeiro, has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>
Since the subject did come up during the discussion at the IOC, it must have been a concern to them.  This represents a major impediment to tourists wanting to attend.  At least we won’t be besieged by right wing crazies screaming that Obama is welcoming terrorists during the Olympics.
However, I would not be fair, if I did not mention that I did hear one reasonable voice coming from the right, Joe Scarborough, so here’s credit where credit is due.

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…

Inserted from <Huffington Post>
Joe does fail to mention one key difference.  Barack Obama is a legitimate President.  Bush was not.  So far, Obama has stolen no elections.  He has created no bogus intelligence to start a war of aggression.  He has ordered no torture, etc.  My only complaint to Obama’s legitimacy is his tendency to try to keep the unconstitutional executive power purloined by the Bush/GOP regime.  No, comparing the legitimate attacks of the left against Bush’s criminal policies bears no resemblance to the GOP’s attacks against Obama.
Anyway, through this entire incident, the GOP has portrayed that they wrap themselves in the flag of patriotism only for personal gain.

PS.  There's some great personal news in today's Open Thread.