Let's flash back to 2005 when the IOC announced the Summer Olympics location for 2012: London, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, and New York were the five finalists.
US President George W Bush made a strong videotaped appeal to the IOC to choose New York City for the 2012 Games.
Note : videotaped. Bush did not risk an in-person appeal for a bid that many knew at the time would probably not be successful.
4 years ago, New York finished in 4th place - just like Chicago this year.
What was the reaction then to - as right-wingers like Sludge might put it - 'the world's rejection of Bush' ?
I'd LOVE for anyone to show me proof that prominent liberal columnists and Democratic political leaders were criticizing our country's leader for the NYC bid and gloating when it failed.
As for Sludge, unlike his ridiculous behavior today, he said little about Bush's effort when the NYC 2012 bid was rejected.
But he DID gloat and wallow like a fat pig in mud - AND get in a shot at the French: one headline was 'PARIS OLYMPICS FAILURE IS DEVASTATING BLOW FOR CHIRAC.'
Archive of 'Sludge' home page from July 7, 2005 here -
http://web.archive.org/...
So . . . in other words, pretty much the same sh*t, different year.
Had Obama 'phoned it in' like Bush did in 2005, he would never have heard the end of it.
At the Sludge archived page from July 2005 I have to say it is amusing to see this was when Judith Miller was in jail, also especially funny to see the headline PRESIDENT BUSH CRASHES BIKE INTO POLICEMAN DURING G8 SUMMIT.
Ahhhh yes, the good old days when we had a 'preznit' who was such a mature, respected leader around the world.