2014 US Sochi Delegation - A genius move or a blunder? How about both?

Or maybe, just maybe, the POTUS didn't spend long nights in the Oval Office wrecking his brain over who should get to go on this boondoggle. But if he did personally decide - and that's a big if - that no member of his administration is going, then it's obviously because the Russians are hiding that Snowden dude, not because of some lame homophobic laws.

The Europeans are already making plenty of noise over the homo issue, and let's face it, the US is in no position to point fingers when it comes to gay rights. Despite what recently happened to DOMA and in some of the more progressive states, the majority of the country still discriminates against its LBGT citizens.

Wørd wrote:

Or maybe, just maybe, the POTUS didn't spend long nights in the Oval Office wrecking his brain over who should get to go on this boondoggle.

Maybe, just maybe, Obama doesn't spend long nights thinking about anything except for golf, March Madness, or vacations.

How many times has Obama claimed ignorance about things going on around him that he should know?

college poli sci guy wrote:It's possible that Obama didn't think it through in terms of the Olympic ramifications for 2024, but it seems more likely to me that he doesn't care about 2024.

The IOC is terrified that the Olympics might be losing their luster. Bids are going to get smaller, not bigger going forward, as more and more people realize what a tremendous waste of taxpayer money the Olympics are. That's why the IOC is so desperate for a good US bid in 2024.

Even if you think bidding for the Olympics is a good idea, the possibility that we could hurt our 2024 chances is surely not something that should receive much weight in the President's diplomatic calculus.

Greatest troll job by the administration during Obama's term. I commend him.

1. In addition to having a bad (even horrible) human rights record, Russia (Putin) has been an adversary of US policy on the most important issues of the past year (nuclear Iran and Syria). Why send high level, presidential representatives to a games hosted by a regime that has been a devoted, staunch and unapologetic sponsor for a government (Syria) that gassed its own children?

2. IOC, and olympic movement in general, is rife with cronyism, corruption, hypocrisy and a willingness to compromise most any principle in the interest of pleasing corporate and media sponsors. I wish there was another venue to showcase track and field, but the sports inability to find other viable platforms and venues makes it dependant on the "olympic movement". The "movement" uses elite athletes but refuses to allow them to make good use of their one moment in the global spotlight. I don't care if the US doesn't get a bid in 2024, it'll save the tax payers of some american city a whole lot of cash.

Abramson could not be more wrong. What the heck is wrong with the guy?

Deep thinker wrote:

Wørd wrote:

Or maybe, just maybe, the POTUS didn't spend long nights in the Oval Office wrecking his brain over who should get to go on this boondoggle.

Maybe, just maybe, Obama doesn't spend long nights thinking about anything except for golf, March Madness, or vacations.

How many times has Obama claimed ignorance about things going on around him that he should know?

Yes, I'll never forget all those times Obama spent time playing golf at his Texas ranch when he should have been in the White House.

“I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.”

Obama stood up to an awful, horrible, despicable Putin (evil might be an even better word). Thank goodness someone has. No teams were withdrawn, no violence perpetrated. Glad he did it.

Maybe he's snubbing the USOC after they made him go to Copenhagen back in 09 to back that disastrous Chicago bid.

Who cares? the real Olympics are in the summer. This other stuff is just so rich people who can buy ski passes and luges get to think of themselves as athletes as well. Ranks right up there with lacrosse and polo in the pantheon of feel good sports for rich people.

1. The winter games are not the Olympics. The Olympics are in the summer. What will happen in Russia this year is a bunch of rich white people convenining to play games invented for and by rich white people. The Olympics happen once every four years, in the summer, and consist of sports that are accessible to athletes and nations of all social classes and all climates.

2. Why would we want the U.S. to host the Olympics in 2024? It's been shown time and again that the city that hosts the Olympics loses a ton of money, and often ends up displacing a large proportion of its poor population. If somebody else is willing to do that, why would we want to do it ourselves instead?

I suppose some super rich in the US working on Olympic bids (think Mitt Romney) will be pissed off, but I really don't care one bit about them. I'm glad to see the US stand up to Putin and the IOC. And I don't think the US *needs* to host the Olympics, esp. the winter games. As far as the athletes go, how is this going to affect them??

tenant wrote:

It's been shown time and again that the city that hosts the Olympics loses a ton of money

Not every time.

Abrahamson's "open letter" has some serious logical flaws. This response from "Ollie" in the article's comments section presents a much more reasoned assessment of the situation:

Cut and Pasted:

Hi Alan. Really interesting and well-written. I find it hard to agree with much of it. To begin with, it feels a little weird to argue for *more* politicians at an Olympic Games on the grounds that “nations are supposed to give politics a rest”. Were that truly the case, wouldn’t we be in the happy situation of having a Games utterly bereft of politicians? Isn’t, therefore, the US stance a sizeable step toward the outcome you’re hoping for? (Whether or not the US means it to be.)

Now there’s some inherent naivety in there – not always a bad thing – so let’s leave that to one side.

It also sounds somewhat as though you’d rather the US primed the IOC for its 2024 bid than took a stand on the issue of gay rights. Which to my mind would be a disappointing, fairly saddening set of priorities but I can understand how people could get there. I’m not sure many US athletes will particularly care about whether the president is sitting next to them or not at the opening ceremony – in fact, if they think he’s not there because their nation is standing up for human rights, I reckon many athletes will probably be fairly chuffed about that. It’s difficult to envisage most of the athletes I’ve ever spoken to even stopping to think about it for long. Again, if we don’t want politics at the Games, then not having current or former presidents hanging around the athletes on live global TV for the sake of being seen to hang around athletes seems like step one.

I can’t say I’m hugely convinced by the part where you mention the situation in various US states. Worrying about whether Russia will like it or not (an entire country liking something or otherwise of course being a mammoth generalisation – I imagine it’ll give a modicum of hope to a lot of LGBT Russians, for starters) seems reasonably irrelevant. No doubt the US wouldn’t like it at all if a country made a sustained protest against the death penalty. But I’m also sure there’s some sort of amendment somewhere, usually invoked with a guttural roar around this point in most US-based comments, that enshrines the right for folk to say what they think. The fact that the US isn’t yet agreed on gay rights is worth noting, agreed, but if the US were to wait for the entire nation to come to accord over an issue before taking action, then the nation might as well cease to exist. Imagine if that were the approach to foreign affairs. Moreover, we’re talking not-yet-agreed-on-gay-rights in the US versus active oppression in many parts of Russia that US states couldn’t come near to replicating even if they tried (harder than they are doing).

As regards the comment about Francois Hollande, I know it’s an insular US stereotype and your tongue was heading cheekward, but let’s at least be grateful for a president that probably *doesn’t* worry about that kind of thing, and with any luck couldn’t care less about grandstanding to Americans about the French as though we weren’t all actually living in the 21st Century.

Ultimately, I think my issue is that in asking Obama to take politics out of his stand, you’re really asking him to engage in more politics: the politics of the Games, of making friends at the IOC, of shaking hands and smiling alongside athletes, of saying and doing The Right Thing in order for the US to be welcomed back to the Olympic high table for many years to come (and maybe pick up a few more medals in judged sports?). It’s all politics, it’s just different politics.

I suppose it’s up to the individual to decide which of the above politics you’d rather have. I prefer the bit about human rights to the bit where IOC members got annoyed by security delays, and I long for a sporting environment where the former matters more than the latter. I’m not kidding myself that we’re remotely near reaching that point, nor am I so naive as to believe that sport will ever be free of politics at every last corner. But every small step is a good’un, perhaps even at the cost of short-term difficulties like a figure skating judge giving Meryl Davis and Charlie White some grief, or not hosting an Olympics for a little while.

Certainly a provocative and interesting letter to read, though. Thanks for publishing it and hopefully see you in Sochi.

Ollie

Obama just said 'Eff the IOC', as in I Owe Cronies.

With any luck Putin will be dead soon.

The IOC talking about the politics of protocol says everything about the IOC living up to its mandate which is to promote international apolitical sport.

There is no obligation to show respect to either Putin or the IOC. It's a bit thoughtless to suggest that the leader of a purportedly democratic nation should show respect to a leader and an organization that in the past have shown a real lack of respect for others.

Why would Obama cater to the left of his party for the '14 midterms? With his current approval rating, he will likely be kept away from close races so he doesn't drag down some of the Dems who have been damaged by the ACA. Also, he'd want to appear more moderate to pick up the voters who are more in the middle. It isn't like the Dems have a great fear of the Republicans running to the left of them.

It is also unclear anyone will fully realize how expensive it is to win an Olympic bid. Some conservatives/libertarians on letsrun maybe, but by in large, the expensive games have been going on for the decades. Search for old olympic stadiums, it is quite a treat.

Does anyone know why Clinton didn't go to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney?

He faults Obama for "disrespecting" Putin. What possible reason could there be for respecting him? If other countries hold this against the United States in IOC bidding, so be it. You take a stand and let the chips fall where they may.