Ms. Malkin: The Olympics is Daley Operation Not an Obama Operation

A lot of my conservative friends like Michelle Malkin a lot. I am not as big a fan. Having followed the ACORN case I believe that Ms. Malkin starts with the premise that President Obama is deeply involved and works her way back. Now, it appears, in the short term at least, Ms. Malkin will spend sometime investigating some of the corruption in Chicago's bid for the Olympics. I welcome any and all media attention on the Olympics, but if her reporting thus far is any indication, she seems to again start with the premise that Obama is corrupt and works her way back.

The problem of course is that the Olympics is a Daley operation not an Obama operation. She makes the same false connections here that she did in the ACORN story to Obama. The connections between ACORN and Obama are fairly marginal. Fair reporters point this out. It's amusing to hear conservatives like Sean Hannity say that President Obama once represented ACORN. So what? If every lawyer were defined by the clients they represented then all lawyers would be considered scum. (maybe they already are but you get my point)

One ACORN insider once remarked that they know that Obama didn't get very far in ACORN because he's black. The top of the ACORN food chain is all white. That's true. The Kest brothers, Mike Shea, Liz Wolff, Beth Butler, Zac Pollett, Alton Bennet, and the Rathke brothers themselves are all white. That's the power structure of ACORN and its all white. Many have remarked about the plantation mentality there. So, Obama wouldn't have gotten very far since his skin color would have likely put him on the outside.

Yet, conservatives like Michelle Malkin breathlessly connect Obama to ACORN. They point to some speech he made in front of community organizers in which he said they would have a seat at the table when he was president. They point out that nearly two decades ago he worked for ACORN. That's pretty much all the evidence tying Obama to ACORN. For me, ACORN is one of a long list of radicals that you can tie to Obama. I wouldn't hold my hat on his connections strictly with the group. Yet, for Malkin, it's hard to find an ACORN story without an Obama mention.

So far, that's how she's approaching the Olympics. Obama's role is minuscule. In fact, Olympics supporters would say it's too small. He's refused to go to Copenhagen to lobby for the games. (I personally think he's putting everyone on and will make an appearance but so far officially he isn't coming) Yet, for Malkin, it is Obama's role in the Olympics process that is most important. In this piece, the first thing Malkin does is talk about Obama's role in the Olympics. She thinks its near scandalous that the president has set up a special office to facilitate the bid. That's not scandalous that's standard operating procedure. She thinks its scandalous that the president's team talks about it nearly everyday. That's also not scandalous but standard operating procedure. The Olympics is a big deal. When a city from our country is bidding, that's something that all levels of government get involved with. Why do you think that Daley has made it his entire mission in life for two plus years to work on getting the bid?

Speaking of Daley, he's barely mentioned in her piece. Does Ms. Malkin understand that the Olympics coming to Chicago is entirely his dream and operation? Ms. Malkin wants to root out the cronies getting fat off the Olympics. That's great but let's make sure we all focus on the right cronies. Malkin is fixated in her stories about Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama. With all due respect Ms. Malkin, those aren't the cronies you should be focusing on.

Just look at Pat Ryan, head of the bid. He's also the founder of AON. That's the same AON that is providing the insurance for cost overruns. That's the same insurance policy now deemed useless by Crain's Chicago Business. Malkin instead focuses on the fact that Valerie Jarrett knows Mayor Daley. What a shock? Valerie Jarrett is a power broker from Chicago and Mayor Daley knows every power broker in Chicago. Keep in mind, however, that this relationship wasn't enough to get President Obama to come to Copenhagen personally to lobby for Chicago in early October.

Then Malkin focuses on the fact that Obama is sending his wife, Michelle Obama, instead. Malkin finds this scandalous. Some would say it is. President Obama is from Chicago. Every other country is having its leader represent their city. The King of Spain, the President of Brazil, the new Premier of Japan, are all coming to Copenhagen. PM Tony Blair lobbied personally to have London host the games in 2012. Yet, President Obama is sending his wife. So, some would say it's pretty scandalous that President Obama isn't helping his old friend Mayor Daley more. Michelle Malkin doesn't see it that way. She thinks the scandal is that Michelle Obama is going in the first place.

The crony that should epitomize Chicago's Olympics bid is Michael Scott. Scott is in charge of outreach for the Olympics bid. In other words, he's the one that goes to business leaders and convinces them that if the games come here they will benefit. Then, the Tribune reported that Scott secured a lucrative land deal next to one of the proposed Olympics' sites, Washington Park. In other words, businesses will benefit however the line to benefit starts right behind Scott. Scott is mentioned in the piece by Malkin. When I say mentioned, of course, I mean that his name is mentioned in the third paragraph of one of the stories Malkin links to. Instead, Malkin focuses on every little link between the Olympics and the Obama administration. By the time she's done, she's actually convinced some of her readers that Obama is running point on this operation. Malkin has perverted this story to make it all about Obama. It's not about Obama but Daley.

Her shotty reporting doesn't end there. Malkin is now focusing on the corruption surrounding the Olympics coming to Chicago. Well, the leader of this movement is No Games Chicago. They are the one and only group dedicated to investigating the corruption surrounding the bid. It's the main reason they are against the bid. No Games is again mentioned in the third paragraph of one of the links that Malkin quotes. Malkin creates links to a story from Bloomberg, some column, among other frivilous information. Yet, she writes a story about the corruption surrounding Chicago's bid for the Olympics and doesn't mention the single most important group in rooting this out. Is she serious?

This is what happens when someone that doesn't really understand the situation tries to report on it when they have a clear agenda. If your goal is to bring down President Obama, I wouldn't investigate the Olympics. That's not going to bring you all that much fruitful information. That's a Daley operation and I have written plenty about his shenanigans in it. From the Olympic Village, to not counting the cost of Michael Reese, to his going back on his promise not to expose the tax payers, Daley's entire Olympics bid operation has been nothing more than a misdirection and it will lead to a disaster for the city of Chicago. That's the story. It's not about President Obama. It's about Mayor Richard Daley.

If Michelle Malkin wants to report the truth, that's what she will report on. If she wants to maintain her agenda, she will report on President Obama.