A Giddy Glenn Beck Calls Obama an Epic Failure as Chicago Loses Their 2016 Olympic Bid

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:07 pm

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On his radio show today, an absolutely giddy Glenn Beck rejoiced that Chicago lost their bid to host the 2016 Olympic bid. The Beck crew characterized this as a failure for Obama. Has it really come to this for Republicans? Beck called Obama the first head of state of major country who has made the pitch for the games and failed.

Here is the audio courtesy of Media Matters:

Beck said, “In his failure to bring to the Olympic games, didn’t Putin go over and get the Olympic games? Wasn’t Tony Blair the first to go over and get the Olympic games? Isn’t it possible that this is the first head of state of any major country that has ever gone over and made the pitch in person and then failed?”

Beck called Obama an epic failure. Chris Chase of the Fourth Place Medal blog on Yahoo Sports has a more factual take on Chicago’s failed bid. Chase wrote, “The perception will be that Barack Obama’s attempt to play the role of conquering hero was a failure and, to some degree, it was. He didn’t accomplish what he set out to do. But the frenzy of his arrival in Copenhagen always obscured the fact that the IOC has constantly shown an anti-American tilt. Obama’s fame wasn’t enough to overcome that.”

Chase gave the real reason why Chicago didn’t get the games, “For a number of reasons, most having to do with the root of all evil (money), the IOC has held a grudge against America for the better part of the last decade. Because of this, today’s vote wasn’t a vote against Obama or against Chicago’s worthiness to hold the Olympics. It was a vote against the United States.”

There is an anti-American bias in the IOC. There is no denying that Chicago’s early ouster leaves some egg on the President’s face, but it is not Obama’s fault that Chicago didn’t win. Is this really what it has come to for Beck and the GOP? It is un-American to root for a city in the US to fail to get the Olympics. I am always happy when America lands the games. I was just as proud in 1984 as I was in 1996 and 2002. It doesn’t matter what political party the president is from.

It can be argued, fairly that there are other country who need the economic boost that the Olympics provide more than the US, but to be happy that America lost in something is just plain wrong. This is more evidence that the right wing in this country are rooting against their country. Beck certainly would have had a different reaction if a Republican failed to win the games.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association