Paper Bag 1, Obama 0

American Spectator ^ | October 5, 2009 | Jeremy Lott

[Zakeet]

Can Barack Obama argue his way out of a paper bag?

That's the question eminences of his party will be milling after his defeat Friday at the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen. Obama put his worldwide popularity and the full weight of the office of the presidency of the United States behind Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

He surprised the world by losing on the first round of balloting. That hurt his credibility at a time when he could least afford it.

[Snip]

It will be hard to distract from this traumatic loss for a president who was touted for his ability to convince people of things. He got lily-white Iowans to vote for him over a party favorite. He managed to nimbly sidestep the Jeremiah Wright debacle. Here was an antiwar candidate who convinced voters to trust him on economic matters.

Obama's past successes only makes his stumbles now more puzzling. The inarticulate George W. Bush convinced Congress to cut taxes and launch two wars. Professor Obama is having a much harder time of it. He was getting knocked around on the world stage before Friday and his domestic agenda is in deep trouble.

The president is struggling to deliver on the legislative priorities of organized labor or environmental groups. The more he speechifies in favor of health care reform -- in stage-managed town hall meetings, on Sunday morning talk shows, before a joint session of Congress -- the further it slips from his grasp.

[Snip]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

[Zakeet]

Can Barack Obama argue his way out of a paper bag?

[2ndDivisionVet]

Myth Romney?! Hahahahaha! When we need an NFL commissioner we'll let you know. He was the author of RomneyCare, the precursor of ObamaCare. I just wish the RINOs would form their own party or join the Democrats.

[quantim]

"He surprised the world by losing on the first round of balloting."

No, he only suprised his water-carriers in the MSM.

[Leg Olam]

‘He surprised the world by losing’

Not really. The Olympics go to a nation NOT to a person. Brazil has never hosted an Olympics and well deserves to have one. Obamas ego is second only to his arrogance and hubris. This is just the first of many future bitch slaps he has coming.

[GnuHere]

This is a trick question!
Is it an affirmative action paper bag??

In order to assess his persuasive skills, perhaps we should research his writings in The Harvard Law Review.

Oh.

[Need4Truth]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

Does anybody think that Sarah Palin would spend any of her valuable time on this?

[libertarian27]

Official Logo of Rahm Emanuel's Office

[MrB]

Paper bag?
THAT’S RACIST!

It’s what they used to use to determine the “race” of the individual, compare his “darkness” to a brown paper bag.

See, everyone can play the “I see racism in everything” game!

Fun for the whole family!

[whitedog57]

Agreed. It wasn’t about Obama. His ego is so great that he can’t comprehend that the world spins in its own orbit and really doesn’t care about Obama - unless he does what THEY want (such as subsidize the rest of the world or capitulate to world Socialism and surrender).

Brazil has never had an Olympics and many elites like to party in Rio. Party in Chicago? Only in Obama’s dreams.

[Rutles4Ever]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

Is the author saying Romney would have failed, too? If so, I agree.

On the other hand, Romney might not have been so stupid as to stake the reputation of the Office of President on winning an Olympics bid in Copenhagen.

[workerbee]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

Huh?

Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, isn't the bigger question, who cares? I'd like to think a president has more important things to worry about than a politicized sports spectacle, but that's just me.

[50mm]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

Yes, Myth is good at spending money and saddling future generations with mind-numbing debt. Just ask those in the Bay State about the ridiculously expensive Romneycare and the debt it has caused.

[McGavin999]

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

Oh please! It was a good article until it got to this part. Mitt can't buy the presidency, and the American people will be super sensitive to that after the money spent by Obama and how they fell for it.

[crescen7]

“Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama’s most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?”

I think the reference here is to the fact that one of Gov. Romney’s greatest achievements was the organization of the successful Winter Olympics in Utah in 2002. Even as a past supporter and casual acquaintance of Governor Romney, I find it absurd to call him a “likely challenger” at this point.

[50sDad]

“The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers...”

[50sDad]

For years, I have bemoaned the need for My Party to be liked. When we had a clear majority, common sense dictates that, screw 'em, we should have pushed through our policies then and there, when we were strong. But no, the pansies in My Party shrieked "If only we deal with the Democrats fairly, they will do so when we are out of power too! And maybe people will like us!"

Cotton candy and unicorn cr@p. It got us the Bush-Kennedy education bill, a bazillion dollars of free meds for old people, and we were STILL voted out when the pendulum swung back.

Obama suffers, oddly, from this same "Republican Delusion Disease". His problem is that he would rather be "respected" than feared. Nine months of sucking up to the weak commie nations, of apologizing for everything that has made America great, of being arrogantly faux-humble, has in reality done jack squit in terms of "getting the world on our side." And he just can't understand what went wrong! I mean, he apologized for Big Bad America stomping around the globe like we own the place! Shouldn't everybody love him so much that they give him what he wants?

[GOPJ]

This is just the first of many future bitch slaps he has coming.

The 'slap' from Iran is going to hurt much more...

[Above My Pay Grade]

I don't think the 0bamas cost Chicago the bid, as Rio seemed like the clear choice. However, I think they were responsible for the last place finish.

I believe they lost to Tokyo by only 2 votes for third place. If the POTUS and FLOTUS, instead of giving dull speeches about their favorite subject (themselves), had given rousing speeches about the Olympic ideals, how great a city and sports town Chicago is and how much Chicago wanted the games (and all that bull), I think Chicago would have made it to the 2nd round.

Madrid gained almost no votes from its first round total, so it is conceivable that Chicago might have edged out Madrid for 2nd, if not for the arrogant, clueless Obamas. There was no way Chicago was beating Rio, though.

Rio, while a somewhat risky choice, has the most upside, wanted the games the most, and South America was overdue for an Olympics.

[Leisler]

I though he spent most of his Utah Olympics ‘Rescue’ time in Washington, rounding up a half billion Federal dollars to bail out the Utah hacks, boosters, real estate hustlers and incompetents?

[Leisler]

Whose going to fear a metrosexual pot smoking third rate affirmative action promoted non-practicing lawyer, who’s basically the liberals racial pet?

I’m mean he’s not like the Chicom politician who when a US General mentioned we could nuke their city, the Chicom said to the effect, 20 million dead means nothing to us, go ahead.

All over the world people get to the top by killing or being killed. Obambi and his over edjamketed fwends have no freek’n clue about how the world works outside their little lefts gardens.

[HIDEK6]

Brazil has never had an Olympics and many elites like to party in Rio. Party in Chicago?

Can you smoke in Chicago?

[crescen7]

“I though he spent most of his Utah Olympics ‘Rescue’ time in Washington, rounding up a half billion Federal dollars to bail out the Utah hacks, boosters, real estate hustlers and incompetents?”

Probably true.

The point was - they were trying to get the Olympics. The way that’s done is to “round up” all the hacks, hustlers, et al, and get them to cough up enough bribe money to the IOC.

Surprised Obama didn’t know that.

[50sDad]

I exolain to my daughters that Democrats/Liberals can be very nice people who want the best for those around them...but who suffer from wearing defective World Glasses. Their vision of how to accomplish these well-meaning goals is horribly skewed by the fact they start out with bad assumptions from the beginning. The Obama Olympic debacle is typical of this. A Liberal wants to think the best of any form of government, and excuse any shortcoming of the individual as not their fault. When this is applied to UN, for example, you and I see a corrupt, ineffectual, mostly dictator-run collapsing mess of an organization, built on the lie that we all want to get along and move forward, where if we didn't have a Security Council veto, the rest of the little commie nations would drag us down like a wounded elk to eliminate us as a barrier to their dreams of power. Obama and his ilk see a shining tower of mythic glory, uniting us all as we push into the future, where America is privileged to pour our endless money supply (taken from YOU without asking, but that's beside the point) to raise up all the little nations that we oppress unrightesously.

Or, for another example, you and I probably see WWII as America standing up with a handful of other freedom loving countries to voluntarily sacrifice our citizens and fortunes to stop one of the major mass-murderers of history when most of the other nations didin't have the will or the resources to do it. Obama's people see WWII as the time LEGAL AMERICAN CITIZENS WERE PUT INTO INTERMENT CAMPS, PEOPLE OF COLOR WERE INITIAL TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, AND BAZILLIONS OF INNOCENT JAPANEESE CIVILIANS WERE BURNED ALIVE IN THEIR OWN HOMES THANKS TO THE PIG-IGNORANT AMERICAN MIITARY and there was some fighting and stuff.

I tell my daughters that listening to Liberals in politics is like buying glasses from a blind optomitrist. You could, but why?

[Western Phil]

Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, isn't the bigger question, who cares? I'd like to think a president has more important things to worry about than a politicized sports spectacle, but that's just me.

It's hard for me to imagine an Olympic athlete wanting to come to Chicago.

[canuck_conservative]

He surprised the world by losing

Well, not the whole world - many FR posters correctly predicted Rio winning.

[altair]

Obama's past successes only makes his stumbles now more puzzling.

What successes might those be? Running unopposed for various offices in Illinois? Rigging the 2008 elections with the assistance of his buds in ACORN?

The inarticulate George W. Bush convinced Congress to cut taxes and launch two wars. Professor Obama is having a much harder time of it.

Let's see now, of the two Bush or Obama, which one requires a teleprompter for any public speaking? The "inarticulate" President Bush, right?

Does anybody seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, Obama's most likely Republican challenger in 2012, would have failed to bring the Games home?

"Likely"? Yeah, right. As much an idiot as Romney is, he is not enough of an idiot to do what Obama did with the IOC.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

How about we review his court personna and successful cases litigated? Oh yea, there is none. How about his senate personna and successful legislation? Oh yea, that achievement gap thingy. Okay, how about his successful election campaign? Oh yea, $700 million in campaign funds, the entire media filling your sails and you win by 2.5 points. Landslide - mandate - dawning new era. Shoosh - I feel like I just bought a used Yugo and I’m not a block away from the dealership. Hey America - you been had.