Who Wants the Olympics?
New York Times article about the Obama administration’s involvement in Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid once again reminds me of how crazy all the Olympic-related lobbying seems. Is there any reason to think these events are actually beneficial? The main sense in which you can imagine a city being made better off by hosting an Olympics is that the hosting duties may cause it to invest in some useful infrastructure that pays off. But if that’s the case the infrastructure investments would have paid off even if there had been no Olympics. The name of the game is to identify useful infrastructure opportunities and build what’s worth building. If anything, pegging the investments to a one-off multination sporting event seems likely to cloud thinking about what is and isn’t truly needed.
This paper is skeptical of the Olympics. This paper sees a summer Olympics announcement giving a sharp short-term boost to stock prices. I take that as evidence that stock market participants are behaving irrationally, but if you think irrational capital market behavior is impossible then I guess that counts as evidence that hosting the games is beneficial.
81 Responses to “Who Wants the Olympics?”
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September 28th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Chicagoans for Rio 2016
September 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
There are two plausible rationales for stock performance that I can think of. One, the announcement is a release of new information about the quality/modernity of the area. Two, the city will be taxing residents to pay for stuff that will benefits, at least partially, various businesses. I don’t think either of these require a position on market efficiency.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
People who like the Olympics.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
The impact to Atlanta was huge including new sports facilities, new dorms for Georgia State making it into something well beyond the inner-city commuter college it had been, remaking an entire section of downtown around Centennial Olympic park and man was it fun going to the events and volunteering ahead of time. Chicago should go all out to land the games.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Since Montreal, I don’t think any city has lost money on the olympics, and they all came up with shiny new infrastructure (either partly financed by the games, or whose financing got triggered and delivered on time because of the pressure of the games). what’s not to like?
September 28th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I know Milwaukee and Madison are looking forward to hosting this, that, and the other thing with minimal upfront investment.
Pre-olympic team housing, biking events, lodging for those who want to take the Hiawatha, etc.
And having everything be Central time zone would be a nice touch.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
There is gong to be a big pile of money sloshing around the Chicago area’s economy if the city is picked to host the 2016 Olympics, and much of that money is going into the pockets of real estate developers and construction companies who contribute money to Richard M Daley’s campaign fund. So even if hosting the 2016 Olympics does not benefit the city of Chicago as a whole, it will benefit the interests of those who matter most to Mayor Daley (the campaign fund contributors).
As for the voters, they will not matter to Da Mare so long as he has a lock on his office. Luckily for Daley, the one politician who could defeat Daley in the next mayoral election in 2011 is occupying the Oval Office.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
There are also convincing papers that claim Union busting is beneficial for stock prices. So Union busting is also beneficial for society when you believe stock markets are efficient right?
September 28th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I don’t think there can be much doubt that the Beijing Olympics was a massive gain for China overall. They hit that one out of the ballpark. Jon Stewart had the best reaction: “We’re f*cked”.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Olympics in Chicago? Could they not think of a drearier, blander, more plebeian, more American city to host the Olympics? Why not Detroit? Why not Cleveland?
This is supposed to the greatest sporting contest of the world, and to bear witness to mankind at his noblest. Let us have it hosted in some place actually splendid, like St. Petersburg, or Paris, or Stockholm, or Buenos Aires, or Frankfurt.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
This is supposed to the greatest sporting contest of the world, and to bear witness to mankind at his noblest. Let us have it hosted in some place actually splendid, like St. Petersburg, or Paris, or Stockholm, or Buenos Aires, or Frankfurt.
You had me until Frankfurt — well played.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Let’s remember that Barack Obama thinks that flying to Denmark to lobby for the Olympics is a better use of his time than figuring out what to do about Afghanistan, coordinating the health care legislation or making sure that the economy gets back on track.
Obama looks to become the shallowest President ever. Maybe next week he’ll take some time off to judge American Idol?
September 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Or clear brush.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Myles SG,
A city that hosted a World’s Fair only 20 years after a devasting citywide fire is more than capable of hosting the 2016 Olympics. I doubt that Stockholm or Frankfurt could have pulled that off in similiar circumstances (although Paris, St. Petersburg, or Buenos Aires would have).
September 28th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
As a current Chicago resident, I am staunchly in favor of the Olympics being Somewhere Else, but then I’m kind of curmudgeonly.
That said, I must defend Chicago against Myles SG’s slur; first of all, I find nothing wrong with an American metropolis being, in his own adjective, “American”. ‘Tis as it should be, unless his conception of “American” is dreary, bland, and plebeian, which would be a shame. Moreover, I must insist that Chicago, while it has its dreary and bland elements – and where does not? – is at its best as grand and splendid as anywhere else in the nation, if not the world. Not for a million monolithic Manhattan’s would I trade Chicago’s gorgeous, varied, architecturally enchanting downtown/skyline.
My favorite city in the US, my favorite place I’ve ever lived, and the place where I’d most like to live, is San Francisco (which has the benefit, among other things, of being in one of the most naturally beautiful regions of the country). But as far as urban grandeur goes, SF isn’t a mote in Chicago’s eye.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
# Al Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Let’s remember that Barack Obama thinks that flying to Denmark to lobby for the Olympics is a better use of his time than figuring out what to do about Afghanistan, coordinating the health care legislation or making sure that the economy gets back on track.
Obama looks to become the shallowest President ever. Maybe next week he’ll take some time off to judge American Idol?
I know, there is absolutely no way that in this world which has telephones, the internet, faxes, and a dozen other ways of communications that Obama can keep in touch with Washington. And he certainly is incapable of doing besides starring at the seat in front of him while on the plane.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
“Let’s remember that Barack Obama thinks that flying to Denmark to lobby for the Olympics is a better use of his time than figuring out what to do about Afghanistan, coordinating the health care legislation or making sure that the economy gets back on track.”
Al,
So Obama is incapable of doing this work while he’s flying back and forth from Denmark?
September 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Let’s remember that Barack Obama thinks that flying to Denmark to lobby for the Olympics is a better use of his time than figuring out what to do about Afghanistan, coordinating the health care legislation or making sure that the economy gets back on track.
I’m sure during the whole flight to Denmark he’ll just be doing some pleasure reading. Maybe listening to his ipod. Clearly the two hours spent at a IOC session, lobbying time which may well tip the balance and get an American Olympics with all its economic vitalization in an area of the country that could use it is a blatantly inappropriate use of time.
All this after you spent eight years cheerleading for a President who regularly took month-long vacations to clear brush – far, far more vacation time overall than any President before and hopefully after. Sometimes you’re just too much, Al.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Re: Let us have it hosted in some place actually splendid, like St. Petersburg, or Paris, or Stockholm, or Buenos Aires,
Nonsense. The Argentinian people are in the middle of trying to reform their economy and society on Left-wing, anti-imperialist lines. This leaves little time for frivolities like hosting an Olympics. While you are correct that Buenos Aires is a splendid city (going on what my friends tell me, I’ve never been there) they have better things to do with their national resources than build stadiums to exhibit synchronized swimming.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I wonder if the allure of hosting the Olympics has something to do with the handicap principle — the idea that animals (or in this case, cities) can reliably signal potential mates (investors) about their fitness by engaging in bold, extravagant displays that require a lot of resources. Thus, while hosting the Olympics involves a huge investment in single-use facilities, the payoff from a reliable signal of fitness is worth it.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Obama looks to become the shallowest President ever. Maybe next week he’ll take some time off to judge American Idol?
He also takes time off everyday to eat, sleep, and take a crap. How dare he.. Afghanistan burns even as Obama sleeps! Why can’t he follow the example set by Al’s favorite ex-President who used to take entire months off to hang out at his ranch irrespective of how many died in Iraq or whether an American city drowned? Wait..
September 28th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Well, since he has (a) only found the time to speak to the handpicked Afghanistan commander once, so far, (b) not come up with his own health care plan and instead relied on the various Congressional committees to do all the work, and (c) fiddled while the economy burned, it seems to me that Obama really must be listening to his iPod on his flights. He certainly isn’t working during those flights – or in the White House either.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
I think there is a case to be made, based on LA’s example, that Chicago could turn a small profit from the Olympics. I don’t normally endorse Forbes but check this article on the money losers and why they lost.
Money quote:
The economic Olympic gold standard–the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games–made a $200 million profit thanks to the fact that the city was already filled with plenty of stadiums, arenas, parks and roads.
Chicago also has the like, so it stands a better chance of profit than Barcelona or Athens.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Or clear brush.
Zing! Looks like daveNYC is the threadwinner.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
If international snobbery is the basis on which to judge a city’s grandeur, then I point to Bernard-Henry Levy calling Chicago “perhaps the most beautiful city in the United States,” while disparaging its many problems. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200505/levy/3
September 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Or clear brush.
Shorter DaveNYC: Look over there!
Since you apparently can’t defend Obama wasting his time on this nonsense, you’ve decided to use the all-purpose leftie response: Bush.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Chicago lacks a velodrome. Chicago could benefit from replacing it’s vibrant harbor with competitive rowing facilities. Chicago lacks sporting facilities except for the ones used by the NFL, 2 MLB, MLS, NHL, AHL, and WNBA teams that play there.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Fuck you troll!
September 28th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
As a Chicagoan, I strongly oppose the Olympics.
Daley is a horrible mayor – as poor a manager as his father was good (his father was a terribly evil man in a great many ways, but at least he knew how to manage the city’s finances and bureaucracy).
Major construction projects under Daley NEVER get done on time, generally taking 2 to 3 times the time originally budgeted (so you can expect Chicago 2016 to get underway in 2020 at the earliest). Major construction projects ALWAYS go massively over budget. Be it Millenium Park or the Riverwalk or Soldier Field, its going to be a disaster.
Then, you’ve always got to worry about the wonderful Chicago Police going off and cracking some people’s heads in. Our security forces lack the discipline of Beijing’s.
The Mayor’s friends and family program stands to benefit in a big way though. Lots of people in the Mayor’s circle of friends stand to make LOTS of money. And the City of Chicago will be left with LOTS of debt to pay for decades to come. After Daley’s retired and moved away to relax on some beach somewhere (maybe in Rio?).
The city’s plan includes a wide range of solutions to move people around without upgrading the roads or public transit. Mostly shuttle buses between venues. The plan includes razing historic parks for space to put up facilities. The plan involves massive “urban renewal” in areas near the lake primarily populated with Black people.
The plan does not involve major upgrades to Chicago’s infrastructure. Even the new stadiums are not planned to be largely temporary structures. No new public transportation. This is a transit infrastructure that’s already massively overtaxed. An airport that’s rated as one of the worst in the world for delays and overcrowding. A highway system that’s on par with that of Los Angeles. A neglected, crumbling train system.
If Chicago gets the Olympics, Chicago is going to be the biggest loser of all.
The only good thing to come of all this is that Daley’s approval rating is finally crumbling as people finally wake up to the stench on the 5th floor.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
The citizens of Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland could take the citizens of Paris, Stockholm, and Frankfurt in a fight.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Chicago lacks sporting facilities except for the ones used by the NFL, 2 MLB, MLS, NHL, AHL, and WNBA teams that play there.
Don’t forget the collegiate facilities at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Why does Matt think that money is the only measure of value?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Jerry101,
As a fellow Chicagoan, I agree with you except on one detail: Daley will never retire. He will leave the mayor’s office only when he dies (like his father did), is defeated for re-election, or is removed from office after Patrick Fitzgerald finally indicts him on corruption charges.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
What non-interventionist, market-oriented policy, compatible with your free market principles, do you suggest that the president engage in, Al, that is precluded by lobbying for development in Chicago?
By any chance, do you expect Barack Obama to write legislation, drive the U.S. economy, and micromanage the forces in Afghanistan and Iraq? Perhaps you have confused being president with playing an RTS?
The previous administration set a pretty low bar for competence. The current president could probably go to summits in his underwear and as long as he didn’t molest any foreign dignitaries he would still be an improvement. I realize that as some kind of partisan you feel the need to return all of the arrows shot into the previous president, but I dare say that you should consider the possibility that he earned them, and that you could await the appropriate time to return them.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Jerry101,
Note that in 2016 Richard M Daley will be 74 years old, which is how old his father was when he died in office in 1976. Richard M Daley’s pursuit of the 2016 Olympics is his way then of telling the people of Chicago that he intends to be Mayor for life.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Matt said: “But if that’s the case the infrastructure investments would have paid off even if there had been no Olympics.”
Infrastructure that might never be built, were it not for a splashy event to loosen up some purse strings. As we’ve seen many a time, some folks just do not give a rat’s okole about a beneficial infrastructure project unless it helps their company/commute/team/kids. The prospects of an Olympics can help pull some of the get-off-my-lawn-damn-kids types out of their myopia.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
How much would a corporation pay to get 2 weeks, 10 hours a
day of global TV advertising ? A heck of a lot. And that’s
what the Olympics is. Done right, it catapults a city from
provincial status to become a world-class global tourist
destination. I suspect Barcelona did that (and became a
global cultural icon, as seen in movies like Vicky Cristina)
Or, for a government seeking global influence, spending
a few billions hosting the Olympics is *way* more cost-effective
- and less ambiguous – than other tactics like trying to
build global military capability. Beijing was a bargain for
China.
Of course, like anything, the details matter and you can
screw it up. But it’s not obviously stupid (or at least,
not as obviously stupid as a whole lot of other ways of
spending money).
September 28th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
As someone from BC, Canada where the 2010 Olympics will be held, I can give a few reasons. Prestige. Enjoying the opportunity to attend an Olympic event. Getting publicity that can lead to tourism. The chance to show off for the whole world and, if it goes well, have something to brag about. The economic reason are less powerful than the sentimental ones.
I think it’s incredible cool that we’re going to have the Olympics.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
How droll, me being attacked by someone who is, soi-disant, The Industrial Midwest.
Frankly, I am going to go out on a limb and say it straight up: I find the Midwest to be the most uninteresting, dreary, and bland region in the U.S., that is to say, behind Utah. Well, maybe excepting places like New Mexico, whether civilization has evidently not reached.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Kudos to cmholm for using “okole” in a comment.
I like government spending as much as the next tax-and-spend liberal, but when we talk about the olympics “making money” aren’t we really talking about the organizers’ ability to get Washington to pony up the big bucks?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Frankly, I am going to go out on a limb and say it straight up
I’m pretty sure that you actually already did before.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Jerry 101: I’ll see your Mayor Daley and raise you Mayor Bill Campbell recently released from federal housing.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Frankly, I am going to go out on a limb and say it straight up: rah rah rah rah rah rah rah.
Fixed your typo, there.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
g shepherd: corporate sponsors put up millions and millions and then millions of visitors flood into your hotels, restaurants, taxis, etc. I don’t remember my city taxes going up, but I sure enjoy the jazz concerts at centennial park and Braves games at the new stadium.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
(b) not come up with his own health care plan and instead relied on the various Congressional committees to do all the work
Isn’t he s’posed to do that? Given that Congress is the legislative branch, with responsibility for preparing legislation? (And given that any plan he proposed would be changed beyond recognition in committee anyway?)
The Congress, as 600+ people, is more representative of the varied national opinion than the President, as one person, can be.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Re: Well, maybe excepting places like New Mexico, whether civilization has evidently not reached.
Idiot Myles, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish _long_ before the British, Dutch, and French had got around to colonizing the rest of North America. I don’t know you learned in your school history classes, but New Mexico was among the _first_ parts of North America to be exposed to European civilization.
Is this joker serious or is he just pulling my chain?
September 28th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
The Argentinian people are in the middle of trying to reform their economy and society on Left-wing, anti-imperialist lines. This leaves little time for frivolities like hosting an Olympics. While you are correct that Buenos Aires is a splendid city (going on what my friends tell me, I’ve never been there) they have better things to do with their national resources than build stadiums to exhibit synchronized swimming.
Barcelona, by all accounts, did a splendid job hosting the Olympics. I am sure Buenos Aires could do the same– and I am more than sure that the city’s leaders would kill for the chance, given that they regularly put in bids for this sort of thing (and they hosted the 1978 World Cup).
That said, I am in agreement with Hector on the merits– I love the Olympics as an event (I attended the 1984 Olympics in my hometown and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta), but it’s a pain in the butt and a waste of resources for the host city. It’s always better if Some Other City hosts them.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I find the Midwest to be the most uninteresting, dreary, and bland region in the U.S., that is to say, behind Utah. Well, maybe excepting places like New Mexico, whether civilization has evidently not reached.
Utah and New Mexico are two of the LEAST dreary and bland places on earth.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
He’s just pulling your chain, Hector. He’s not seriously enough of a douchebag to use soi-disant. That’s right douchebag , we know some French too.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Apparently American cities need to host the Olympics in order to proceed in the design and construction of really cool infrastructure projects.
My proposal is: host the Olympics on a perpetual basis. Simply move the Olympics around the country, from city to city, like a traveling circus.
We will soon have infrastructure out the ying-yang. We will have so much infrastructure even the Chinese will be jealous.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
And I also find it somewhat humorous that folks are actaully asking the question: what is Obama supposed to do, draft a healthcare bill and submit it to Congress? YES! It’s like commenters have never heard of a bill drafted by the Presidential Administration before.
And it’s further humorous that folks are asking if Obama is somehow supposed to be listening directly to the commander on the ground in Afghanistan. Um, YES!
It’s amateur hour so far in the White House.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Idiot Myles, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish _long_ before the British, Dutch, and French had got around to colonizing the rest of North America.
I always rather didn’t consider the colonial Spanish and Portuguese as being civilized. Civilization had to await French and English colonization.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I’m guessing Myles never made it out of the Loop to see the other 98% of probably the most architecturally significant city in the Western Hemisphere. (I’m also guessing he’s never been to Detroit, which if you can get past the neutron-bomb aspect is a stunningly beautiful city.)
Of course I don’t want the Olympics here, but for all its faults Chicago represents the highest aspirations of man every bit as much as any other city in the world.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Idiot. Chicago is a financial and shipping center.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Don’t forget the collegiate facilities at the University of Chicago
LOL
September 28th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Name all the cool infrastructure projects that resulted from the Atlanta Olympics. My list starts with ‘none’.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I love Obama but he becomes your standard variety pol when talking sports. I remember hearing him defend the remodeling of Soldier Field as important development. He runs with a bit of a prissy crowd. I, for one, miss the trough urinals and classic architecture of the old Soldier Field along with the millions of dollars that went into making the new Soldier Field comfortable for corporations and the pee shy elite.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Midway Plaisance, bitches!
September 28th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Yeah, Obama cheering as a fucking spaceship crashed into a national landmark was uncool.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
@51 Al: “And it’s further humorous that folks are asking if Obama is somehow supposed to be listening directly to the commander on the ground in Afghanistan.”
You are correct, Al. There is a vast ideological gulf between us, but when someone is right, someone is right. By communicating directly with his commander of ground forces in Afghanistan only once in 72 days, Obama is neglecting his most important duty as President, that of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States.
It is unacceptable.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Richard Crownie:
For the vast majority of cities, they are already a minor provincial city or already a global cultural icon, and the Olympics have nothing to do with that.
Seoul is still a provincial, regional city. So is Atlanta. When you travel overseas and say you’re from the United States, does anyone talk about Atlanta?
Do people in other countries talk about former Olympic host Montreal, or do they talk about Toronto?
Chicago already is a city with a global reputation and plenty of international tourism. Are we on New York’s level? No. And we’re not going to be. But people all over the world know Chicago. All those years of having Michael Jordan winning championships will do that.
Barcelona is an exception because the Olympics probably did elevate its status. But that’s not because Barcelona wasn’t a dynamic city that could appeal to an international audience. It already was, it just needed to say “Hello!” to the world. When Barcelona held the Olympics, Spain was still emerging from the Franco dictatorship.
Barcelona’s Olympics showed Barcelona (and Spain) to a world that had forgotten about Spain.
Another example of the nonsense of this Olympics will make you a world city: Munich. Munich is a provincial city that occasionally draws in a large number of international tourists, and its not because of the Olympic Legacy. It’s because they spend weeks celebrating Beer.
Sydney’s status as a well known international city existed before the Olympics and its status did not rise because of the Olympics. It’s still the coolest city on the most remote continent (or giant island) in the world. Which it was before Sydney held the Olympics.
Besides Barcelona, has any city seen its image and status really change?
More importantly, will the Olympics change Chicago’s status? Nope. It won’t change Rio’s either. Brazil really should have had Sao Paulo host the Olympics. The Olympics could have had a Barcelona-lite effect on Sao Paulo by raising the profile of the biggest city in South America since much of the world doesn’t even know what continent Sao Paulo’s on.
Of course, the city of Rio is probably in need of a big infusion of money in a much bigger way than Sao Paulo.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Chicago is the coolest city and all other cities are less cool.
Chicago could take Tokyo or Madrid or Rio with one arm tied behind its back.
Sh*tty winters toughen you up!
September 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
What’s annoying are people needing to prove that hosting games is “beneficial” in order to be worthwhile. The Olympics are fun to watch and as a Chicagoan, I sincerely hope the Obama, Michelle, Oprah trio pulls us over the finish line.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
“And it’s further humorous that folks are asking if Obama is somehow supposed to be listening directly to the commander on the ground in Afghanistan.”
Al,
Apparently you haven’t heard of this thing called the chain of command. Obama is not supposed to be listening to his field commander; the field commander is supposed to listen to the commander-in-chief of the US military.
Also, there’s this invention known as writing that has been around for quite some time now that allows communication between subordinates and their superiors. Are you honestly claiming that Obama has received no communications or input from his field commander other than in a direct verbal briefing? Moreover, are you claiming that Obama has received no communication from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from General Petreus, and from the Secretaries of Defense and Army? (You know, the people who are responsible for crafting and devising the military strategies that the field commander is tasked with implementing.)
September 28th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Dream scenario goes like this:
After two rip-roarin’, feel-good terms, the First Family spends the upswing of the late Summer 2016 Presidential Elections back at home in their Chicago backyard.
The most popular President in American history smiles and waves to 4 or 5 billion global viewers. Who do we have to thank for these warm fuzzies? The Democratic Party.
Someone somewhere already made this in more scientific terms, but the optics seem to speak for themselves.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Chicago is a great city. Frankfurt!? not so much, and I like Germany. I’d recommend Berlin or Cologne or Hamburg or Munich, but Frankfurt? Seriously?
September 28th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
@64 eltoro: “Obama is not supposed to be listening to his field commander; the field commander is supposed to listen to the commander-in-chief of the US military.”
Obama can do whatever he wants. If Obama chooses to have McChyrstal brief him on a daily basis, he can do so. The technology is available. There is no need to dispatch fast riders with written communiques to the furthest reaches of the realm.
The chain of command, especially for a democratically elected President, cannot always be trusted. Obama should bypass or incorporate a few levels of the chain and talk directly to his theater commander, if for no other reason than to make sure they are on the same page. The recent leak of the McChrystal report and the resulting embarrassment for the administration was eminently avoidable. That McChrystal might feel the need to send not so oblique signals to the President, or anyone else, via the press, is just one reason Obama should talk to him directly.
This is going to hang over Obama for quite some time. He will be labeled as completely out of touch by the Right, a President more intent on globetrotting than plotting strategy with a theater commander conducting life and death operations in a war zone. Unfortunately, it will be extremely hard for the Left, and the administration, to counter these accusations, because apparently they are true.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Dream scenario goes like this:
After two rip-roarin’, feel-good terms, the First Family spends the upswing of the late Summer 2016 Presidential Elections back at home in their Chicago backyard.
Whatever. It isn’t their backyard; they live in Washington. As a lot of this stuff would (almost literally) be in my backyard, I say the Olympics can get bent.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I spent some time in Atlanta right after the Olympics. It was clean and beautiful, but everyone was saying that the only people making any money were the people that sold the cheap commemorative pins. There were hotel vacancies throughout, the upscale restaurants and bars didn’t get swamped like they thought they would. People seemed to just go to the events they wanted to see, bought some groceries or went to McDonalds, then hung out at their hotels. That’s just what I heard— heard it from a lot of people though. It was very disappointing for a lot of people that thought they’d be doing a lot of business. I was there during the World Series that year—that was a grand time.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
It’s still the coolest city on the most remote continent
Melbourne says you are full of it
September 28th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Obama’s keeping his options open in case he is unemployed in 2013.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Barcelona, by all accounts, did a splendid job hosting the Olympics. I am sure Buenos Aires could do the same– and I am more than sure that the city’s leaders would kill for the chance, given that they regularly put in bids for this sort of thing (and they hosted the 1978 World Cup).
Argentina hosted the 1978 World Cup, with games venued in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mar del Plata, Mendoza and Rosario. That fact certainly doesn’t appear to relevant as it took place more than thirty years ago.
Brazil really should have had Sao Paulo host the Olympics.
If that had happened I could not imagine how horrible the traffic would be, assuming anyone could actually arrive at Sao Paulo’s Cumbica airport, one of the most consistently fogged in and otherwise delayed airports in South America.
Rio staged the successful 2007 Pan Am Games. The nation will host the 2014 World Cup. They’re the best situated city on the continent and the continent has never had an Olympics.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
They should hold the Olympics in Los Angeles and L.A. only if we’re going to have this stupid institution in our country. Only L.A. manages to turn a profit on this mobile fiasco. Plus, they don’t have to build some ridiculous sports palace to play in for two weeks, since they’ve already got the Colosseum. Maybe Peter Uebberoth is willing to run this turkey one last time.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Back in my Angelino days, the ‘84 Olympics were mighty fine. I especially liked the trick of scaring half the City off of the freeways for the duration… the only other time I saw the 405 that cleared out in primetime was during the ‘92 riots.
re: DM (#65), I wonder when that very image popped into Obama’s head?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:33 am
He will be labeled as completely out of touch by the Right, a President more intent on globetrotting than plotting strategy with a theater commander conducting life and death operations in a war zone.
If Obama was regularly “plotting strategy with a theater commander”, Al and his fellow travelers would be on here bashing Obama for bypassing the chain of command, playing warrior without any personal military experience, and trying to micromanage the military. Oh, and they would blame Obama for not doing enough to promote U.S. interests if Chicago didn’t get the Olympics.
In other words, hacks like Al are going to bash Obama no matter what he does, because that is what they do. So there is really no point worrying about what they are going to say, and what Obama should worry about instead is what is the best way to get good results in all of his many jobs as President.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:40 am
The Olympics are important for one simple reason: INFRASTRUCTURE. You get an amazing opportunity to really re-think your city.
Athens is the best example. That city went from being a medieval hell into a modern city because of the construction of the new highways, airports, and Metro that were all built simply for the Olympics.
I am really really dissapointed that NYC did not get the 2012 Olympics. It really was an opportunity to invest into big time projects that have been left to rot for too long.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:59 am
On the Olympics:
As I understand it, the basic problem is that the Olympics Committee wants its localities to blow a lot of money on the venues. Generally, that isn’t going to be a high-value way of spending capital on infrastructure, so any gains from spending capital on more useful infrastructure projects that otherwise wouldn’t get done, plus the net direct economic benefits of the event, have to be balanced against the losses from blowing money on venues that don’t end up providing a reasonable payback on that part of the locality’s investment.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
[...] is turning to President Obama in its bid to land the 2016 Olympics. Matt Yglesias wants to know why anyone would want to host the Games. Katie Connolly looks at the pros and cons. [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
The olympics are great for infrastructure if your idea of infrastructure is a new velodrome and a beach volleyball facility.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
[...] “Is there any reason to think these events are actually beneficial?,” asks Matthew Yglesias. The main sense in which you can imagine a city being made better off by hosting an Olympics is that the hosting duties may cause it to invest in some useful infrastructure that pays off. But if that’s the case the infrastructure investments would have paid off even if there had been no Olympics. The name of the game is to identify useful infrastructure opportunities and build what’s worth building. If anything, pegging the investments to a one-off multination sporting event seems likely to cloud thinking about what is and isn’t truly needed. [...]
October 1st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
[...] Avent explains, contra Matt Yglesias, why hosting the Olympic games makes sense from a behavioral-economics [...]