Keller @ Large: Don't Trust Olympic Officials

BOSTON (CBS) - One of the unfortunate aspects of political debate in the Facebook/Twitter era is how quickly it descends into character assassination, and that's certainly been true of the back-and-forth over the Boston Summer Olympics bid.

John Fish, the local construction magnate who's been a driving force behind the bid, has been unfairly maligned for the crime of sinking his own money and time into an effort he thinks can benefit the community.

Fish, in turn, blundered when he questioned the patriotism of critics asking perfectly valid questions about the costs and risks of the plan.

Each side has proven regrettably quick to dismissively stereotype the other.

But there's at least one thing the two factions can by now agree on – the officials behind the Olympic movement are not good partners.

For starters, they're not honest.

After US and International Olympic Committee member Angela Ruggiero blurted out the truth the other day – that the USOC is still "vetting" Boston as a host city and there's "no guarantee" we'll be their chosen bidder in the end – the USOC brass re-issued the same unconvincing denials they offer every time concern about Boston surfaces. They even resorted to the all-time classic dodge, that Ruggiero's comments were "taken out of context," which is false.

They are also jerking their local supporters around, most notably Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who is clearly beginning to regret the day he started hanging with this crowd. This was not the first time Walsh has had to clean up messes generated by the bad attitude and dubious values of the Olympic brass.

To me, he seems to be running out of patience.

Nothing personal against these folks, mind you.

Just an observation that I really wouldn't trust a single one of them to walk my dog.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.