Although certain media outlets are now criticizing mostly conservatives for showing pleasure in Chicago not getting the Olympics and pleasure in knowing it was a failure that damaged President Obama’s reputation, the fate was sealed long before the President’s trip was taken and the mistake was on the administration for not knowing what they were getting in to in the first place.
France and the U.S. have the oldest Olympic Committee’s (est. 1894) and obviously been powerful members. The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) has a sweet deal which gives them 13% of the ad revenue all of the Olympics and the TV deal by NBC wich is worth 5 billion over a 12 year period by itself. The IOC (Int’l Olympic Committee) has a conflict with the USOC because unlike the past where the US was 90% of the ad revenue it is now more like 40%. The USOC is a non-profit and the only non-government committee involved in the Olympics and has to rely on corporate and private donations to run unlike all the other national committees which are supported by their countries governments.
The USOC is made up of corp. exec., sports federations and former Olympic athletes. The USOC is also looking to set up its own network for the Olympics which is contrary to the IOC desires. Dick Ebersol (NBC Sports) was on “Morning Joe” and he indicated that the IOC believed the USOC was incompetent combined with the cash issue of the ad revenue it was going to be impossible for the US to win the 2016 bid.
So, the cards were stacked against Chicago and Oprah, Barack and Michelle traveling to Copenhagen which was a giant waist of time. They have to have been lied to by their “yes” men and the Olympic committee, five minutes with Ebersol would have cleared this up and saved a lot of money in travel and power.
© WithComment.com 2009
