Obama: He’s smarter than you think
Image by jurvetson via Flickr
OMG. THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITEE DID NOT AWARD THE 2016 GAMES TO CHICAGO. WHAT A HUGE BLOW TO BARACK OBAMA!!!
Or so the right-wing zealots and our passive mainstream media would have you believe. The Drudge Report this afternoon trumpets the news as a massive disaster for our president: “World Rejects Obama! The Ego has landed!”
If only what transpired this morning was that interesting. Instead–yet again–we’re in a moment when the political chops of Barack Obama are being severely underestimated. What’s understood as a loss now will, most likely, come to be seen as a neutral or even an advantageous turn of events for him.
Think of it this way. Did Barack Obama want Chicago to win? No one’s a mind reader, but we do know one thing about this guy: he’s got an acute sense of politics. And politically, having Chicago host the Olympics in 2016 was close to a sure-fire loser. The city’s residents seem opposed to hosting it, for one thing–that matters. If the Windy City had won, activists would be making a stink for seven years. More importantly, we all know about Chicago’s political culture of corruption. If Chicago had won, the RNC, RSCC and other right-wing apparatchicks would run countless advertisements alleging amorphous connections betweeen the President and the developers who would likely benefit from the Olympics.
Insofar as there would be a grain of truth to such advertising, it’s a grain that would hurt the president. After all, he is connected, albeit mostly amorphously, to the Chicago development community. The big money Chicago people–the same people pushing for 2016–were instrumental in making Obama president.
And now they see that he’s gone to bat for them. It didn’t work, but there’s no doubt that he put his reputation on the line for their benefit.
Or did he? Presidents rarely travel overseas to any kind of meeting without knowing the outcome first. The summits on high are in fact the byproduct of months of advance work. By the time the prez actually shows up, what’s going to happen has usually been decided. Now, of course the IOC did not vote before this morning. But Team Obama was in touch with the voters. They run a top-notch vote-counting operation; ask President Hillary Clinton if you don’t believe me. I’d be shocked if the White House didn’t have some inclination that, even with Obama’s appearance, he was going to lose.
For him, this is the best of both worlds: he’s demonstrated his loyalty to his most important boosters, but has avoided the scandals that would most likely befall a Chicago Olympics. The loss itself will be forgotten by the American public by the time the weekend is over.
This is only a theory, of course. But, in the four-plus years Obama has been on the national scene, I’ve learned a lesson. Never bet against the man on political grounds. Substantively, he’s a different story–he’s made his share of mistakes. But his political record is virtually unblemished. Somehow I don’t think we just witnessed the first one.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ethan Porter. Ethan Porter said: OMG OBAMA LOST. er, not really. see here: http://tinyurl.com/ya8yxqz [...]
Interesting, yet I still thing the real reasons behind the loss of the 2016 games include the bellowing specter of Oprah.
http://trueslant.com/robwarmowski/2009/10/02/eight-reasons-chicago-was-rejected-for-2016-olympic-games/
Mr. Porter,
Is that how Mr. Obama is running the health care reform effort, losing to win?
During the campaign, Obama trumpeted the games coming to Chicago. He praised the idea as a wonderful way to end the last year of his second term. He was all for them, prior to even being elected. His passion for the games was not a last minute endeavor or political rouse, it was there well in advance.
Why? Some of it was city pride for sure. However, it also has to do with misinformation. Chicago didn’t have a real chance of getting the final votes. The media over sold it, and the Chicago 2016 team oversold it — both to the public and to Obama. Chicago 2016 hoped their slim chances would balloon with Obama in attendance, they were wrong. The top candidates were always Rio and Madrid, the media simply ignored that reality.
Did the White House know the final decision in advance? Not likely. The IOC is no simple political or economic summit. They pride themselves on their voting process and secrecy. Their procedure and disposition are as important to the members as the games themselves. Not even Obama could convince them to sacrifice that.
[...] Ethan Porter – Mr. Obama’s Neighborhood – Obama: He’s smarter than you think… – Think of it this way. Did Barack Obama want Chicago to win? No one’s a mind reader, but we do know one thing about this guy: he’s got an acute sense of politics. And politically, having Chicago host the Olympics in 2016 was close to a sure-fire loser. The city’s residents seem opposed to hosting it, for one thing–that matters. If the Windy City had won, activists would be making a stink for seven years. More importantly, we all know about Chicago’s political culture of corruption. If Chicago had won, the RNC, RSCC and other right-wing apparatchicks would run countless advertisements alleging amorphous connections betweeen the President and the developers who would likely benefit from the Olympics. AKPC_IDS += "7736,";SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Daily Links for October 2nd through October 4th", url: "http://www.akkamsrazor.com/2009/10/04/daily-links-for-october-2nd-through-october-4th/" }); [...]