I'll admit that Obama going to Copenhagen when he said he wouldn't in order to work on health-care might be bad judgment on his part. But I think this is representative of a bigger issue than a one day trip to support a US bid for the 2016 Olympics.
It seems like nowadays there's a lot of hypocrisy coming from the right in the US. During the Bush Administration, protesters were seen as unpatriotic for not supporting the President and his policies. Now, protesters are seen as patriotic for not supporting the President and his policies.
During the Bush Administration, giving up freedoms was democratic because it kept Americans safe and stopped those terrorists from attacking. Now, a raise of 3% on the income taxes of those making more than $200000 or Universal Healthcare is socialism and sets us down the road to facism.
During the Bush Administration, even though Bush lied about Iraq developing WMDs, it was fine because he was protecting the US and you shouldn't question the decisions the President makes. Now, every little misstep by Obama is overblown to epic proportions and apparently will cause the fall of American civilization as we know it.
By the end of the Bush Administration, the national debt increased by $4 trillion from a national debt $5.5 trillion at the start of his Administration. Most of that money was spent killing people in two wars. The right doesn't complain. Obama wants $1 trillion to provide healthcare for American citizens who need and the right is outraged at the audacity of Obama for trying to help people.
During the eight years of the Bush Administration, Bush's total time spent clearing brush at his ranch amounted to 2 and a half years of his 8 years in office. Obama just took a day to represent Chicago and America in the hopes of bringing the Olympics to the US.
The Democrats are not much better. They have a super-majority in Congress and they can't seem to pass anything. Unfortunately, what is happening is that the Dems are representing both the left and the right and the Repubs are representing a completely different set of individuals. Still, as Bill Maher often says, the Dems need to grow a pair.
Riverrat, Obama is trying to do the best for this country, as I believe Bush tried to do during his eight years. Give Obama a little credit and leeway. If the Olympics had gone to Chicago, that would have been a boon for the US economy. The thing is, tourists would not have just visited Chicago, but also other places of interest in the US. Some could have even traveled to NYC and spent their hard-earned money thus boosting the NYC economy. And even better, if those tourists had had a wonderful time in the US, they might have gone back or told their friends boosting the US tourism trade for years to come. The Olympics can be a boon for any hosting city and country, which is why there is fierce competition to host it.
Edited by Izanagi, : No reason given.
™ Version 4.2
(1)
