October 5th, 2009 
weldamfm 
President Obama had a huge disappointment Friday when the International Olympic Committee turned Chicago down from the start. Obama went out of his way to rally for Chicago and many consider it a slap in his face to be shot down in the first round. Read more and see video on this story below.
President Obama rallied to have Chicago be chosen for the 2016 Olympics, joining Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. But they suffered a shocking defeat when they were knocked out in the first round.
President Obama’s failure to win the Olympic games for Chicago has now raised serious questions about his international star power.
The winners for the 2016 Olympic games ultimately went to Rio de Janeiro.
Obama’s critics are now wondering if he cannot sway even the Olympic officials, how in the world can he work on concessions from Iron on their nuclear program or get support from allies to rebuild the image of the U.S. in the Middle East? Good questions huh?
The International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Game after Obama flew to Copenhagen to make a pitch for his hometown of Chicago. “Chicago was considered a favorite along with Rio de Janeiro, but the notoriously unpredictable committee eliminated Chicago in its first round of voting.”
The early elimination means that Chicago didn’t just fall short, said Dan Amira in New York magazine. “It was the least popular choice among the four finalist cities.” There are “a million reasons” why the IOC might have snubbed Chicago, “including the fact that half of Chicago didn’t want it—but because of his unprecedented involvement,” it’s Obama’s “power and influence” that really took a beating.
Sure, “this is pretty embarrassing for the White House,” said Katie Connolly in Newsweek. “But ultimately, it’s a good thing for him.” The Olympics are notorious for going way over budget, and the infighting among local cronies is never pretty. And with support for the Olympic bid “lukewarm” in Chicago itself, subjecting the city’s citizens to seven years of disruptive preparations was “a recipe for serious disgruntlement.”
But Carlson said it was foolish for Obama to put his credibility on the line when the outcome was uncertain.
“Just like a lawyer never asks questions of a witness in court unless he knows what the answers are going to be, you don’t want to send the president out on a high profile mission like this unless you’re certain he’s going to succeed,” he told FOX News.
That raises questions about whether Obama will do as poorly predicting how health care votes are leaning in Congress and make similarly ill-fated strategic decisions as that complex debate plays out for the rest of the year.
Carlson said the aides who advised the president to go to Copenhagen should be fired immediately.
“I think that’s a feeling among Democrats, too,” he said. “This made the president look like an amateur.”
But Carlson added it may have been good for Obama to suffer such a public humiliation.
“It’s good for us to fail in a high profile way every once in a while because it reminds us that we’re not God and there are limits in our ability to sway other people,” he said.
“The one thing President Obama hasn’t done very often is fail. Failing puts your life in perspective and it keeps you from overreaching the next time. This administration overreaches dramatically. Maybe this will cause him to rethink some other policy.”
Here’s the announcement for the Olympics
Click Thumbnails for Larger Pictures
Images: Wenn.com/pr
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This page wasnt working this morning. i tried visiting it but it timed out 4-5 times now but i can access it now. Why does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?