My prediction was completely wrong, and I’m stunned. Chicago is not only NOT hosting the Olympics, but it was eliminated in the first round.
Well, that was some presidential time well spent.
UPDATE: I find myself in the strange position of feeling offended on behalf of Obama and the Chicago bid. I was mixed on hosting the Olympics — it’s a chance to shine on the world stage, and it’s also a pain in the neck for residents — but did Chicago really deserve to be knocked out in the first round?
And while I have lots of gripes with the president for making the trip, I really cannot believe that the International Olympics Committee so explicitly rejected Obama’s pitch. Hey, IOC folk, the president of the United States is a pretty busy guy; we like to think of him as the leader of the free world. He’s doing you guys a favor by taking a day and flying out to chat with you personally. We taxpayers just spent at least a million flying him over and doing prep work and coming back.
I don’t care if you guys decided after his pitch he was an arrogant blowhard whose promises come with expiration dates; he’s our arrogant blowhard whose promises come with expiration dates. He deserves some @#% respect. Seriously, IOC? His pitch for the Windy City didn’t entice you more than the slumopolis best known for thongs and gangs? That statue of Jesus has His arms up because He’s being mugged.
(Think of this as my “politics stop at the water’s edge” moment.)