Snip Snip

With the announcement on Friday that the 2016 Summer Olympics were not going to Chicago, it came as no surprise to me to see the level of happiness exhibited by those who delight in any perceived failing of our President. I felt it was inevitable, but even I was surprised at the level of schadenfreude and malicious glee we've seen. It certainly seems to me to be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Here are a few choice tidbits.

From Glenn Beck's radio show (read the full transcript here):

STU: Ya, sure. The first round of voting is up for the Olympic games, and the first...

GLENN: Wait for it! Wait for it! Enjoy this. Savor this moment.

STU: And the first city to be eliminated is... Chicago. Yes, our president flew all the way over there to fail.

GLENN: Not one plane. Just in one plane?

STU: No. Two planes. We need more breaking news. There we go. Two planes.

GLENN: Two planes.

STU: His wife Oprah Winfrey, all the jet fuel needed to lift them.

GLENN: All the massive amounts of corruption that was promised.

STU: All the greenhouse gas emissions, all the publicity, all the excitement.

GLENN: For nothing.

STU: For as the kids call it, an epic fail.

[snip]

GLENN: Are you saying that the president failed?

STU: Glenn, there is no honest observer who could disagree with that statement.

GLENN: Let me ask you this, Stu: In his failure to bring the Olympic games, didn't Putin go over and get the Olympic games?

STU: Yes, he did, Glenn.

GLENN: Wasn't Tony Blair the first to go over and get the Olympic games?

STU: I believe you're correct on that, Glenn.

GLENN: So this would make the is it possible that this is the first head of state of any major country that has ever gone over and made the pitch in person and then failed?

STU: I don't know if that's true, but I'm choosing to believe it, Glenn.

GLENN: We can always hope.

STU: And Glenn, by the way, I don't know if you're noticing this. This is the first absolute undisputable [sic] proof of Rush's comment being true: I hope he fails because we're going to need the money. Well, he's failed and guaranteed we've saved money by his failure.

GLENN: Unbelievable.

STU: So it's actually, it's proven to be true.

GLENN: Do you notice there in Daley plaza they have a sign up on one of the buildings: Imagine.

STU: Imagine failure, Glenn.

GLENN: No, no. It says...

STU: You don't need to imagine it anymore. It's here.

GLENN: It says Chicago 2016, imagine. And that's exactly what they're going to have to do. In 2016 they'll stand around and imagine what it would have been like to have the Olympics in Chicago.

STU: Welcome to the 2016 imaginary games.

From Rush Limbaugh's radio show:

The worst day of Obama's presidency, folks. The ego has landed. The world has rejected Obama. For those of you who are upset that I sound gleeful, I am. I don't deny it. I'm happy. Anything that gets in the way of Barack Obama accomplishing his domestic agenda is fine with me.

From the conservative blog Red State's Erick Erickson:

Hahahahaha. So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him. So much for improving America's standing in the world, Barry O.

From the Weekly Standard editor John McCormack in a post titled "Chicago Loses! Chicago Loses!":

Cheers erupt at Weekly Standard world headquarters. As a citizen of the world who believes that no one nation can or should try to dominate another nation, I'm glad that the Obama White House's jingoist rhetoric and attempt to pay back Chicago cronies at the expense of undermining our relationships with our allies failed.

"Jingoist?" This, after eight years of President Bush? Good grief. I'm surprised his tongue didn't leap out of his mouth and run screaming down the hall.

Here's an idea. For any of these folks who are loving the fact that Chicago didn't get the Olympics because they see it as a failure on President Obama's part, I recommend that you make a pilgrimage to Chicago. Stand on any street in the city and shout to all passersby that you are thrilled that Chicago didn't get the Olympics. Confront Chicagoans as they walk to work, or walk on their way to the unemployment office, or as they hit the streets trying to find a job because they've been out of work for months. Although the city was split on getting the Olympics, you can bet there were plenty who were hoping for the work the Games would bring to the city. Stand on the corner and assail those passing by and tell them how glad you are that they lost the Olympics, because you want so desperately to see President Obama--a guy who has lived in their city for several years now and calls it home--FAIL.

Go on. I'm sure they'd appreciate your thoughts and feelings, and would love to hear what you have to say about it.

I have to say that I am stunned by some of these comments from right wingers who hate Obama. If you didn't pick up on it, they are quite happy we failed in our bid to bring the Olympics here, simply because they feel it is a failure on Obama's part. They are happy that Chicago didn't win, and they are happy that our country didn't win. It is always a great honor to host the Games, and people around the world would have focused on our country and the great city of Chicago, and it would have been a great chance to continue to repair the damage that has been done to our international relationships and to our standing in the world.

These people were happy that our country failed.

It seems obvious to me that their hatred of Obama has overtaken their ability to think rationally and to think of things that would mean a lot to our country and to one of our greatest cities. When you cannot get beyond your own blind and irrational hatred, you have lost your capacity for reasonable discourse and logical thought.

If any of you support these people, or think that they make sense, I urge you to stop and take a look at what they have said about this, and ask yourself if they have the best interests of our country at heart. Take a look at the faces of Chicagoans who were so disappointed to see their bid rejected, and take time to wonder if people like Beck, Limbaugh, et al, had those people in mind when they made these remarks on their show or in their blogs. If you also found it amusing to see Chicago lose its bid, if you got a real kick out of it, if you got a good laugh....

Pay a visit to Chicago. Really. Feel free to tell everyone how you thought it was so funny that they didn't win their bid.

I just hope you have good health insurance.