Posted on 07/02/2005 6:41:08 AM PDT by jeepgal
New York has a Plan B Olympic Stadium. And, now, it has Plan B star power. Sen. Hillary Clinton will travel to Singapore to help lobby the International Olympic Committee to award the 2012 Games to New York, marking a last-minute addition to the city's delegation, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.
Clinton, New York's Democratic junior senator, will be the highest-level U.S. official to attend Wednesday's IOC meeting, adding some wattage to a delegation sorely lacking in political luminaries. Still, her 11th-hour addition to the roster raises questions about the level of desperation among New York officials.
As the Daily News first reported last week, President Bush will not be traveling to Singapore, even though New York's rival bid cities will have their heads of state in attendance, including Britain's Tony Blair and France's Jacques Chirac.
Asked if Clinton's sudden addition to the delegation roster was a sign of concern, Bloomberg, who was in Los Angeles attending the inauguration of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said, "Well, we're always worried. There are five great cities trying to get the Olympics."
"I'm thrilled that she's consented to join our team. She'll be a great asset," Bloomberg added. "She's a woman who knows how to be an advocate. She's a great believer in America and New York. If she can help with a couple of votes, it would be wonderful."
Last week, Clinton's office told the Daily News the senator would not go to Singapore but had taped remarks to be used as part of the city's final presentation. On Monday, Bloomberg personally asked Clinton if she could rearrange her schedule to help the bid.
Asked why NYC2012 didn't push harder for Clinton to join the delegation earlier, Jay Kriegel, the bid's executive director, said, "We did get involved in some other issues that had to be resolved," referring to New York's search for a new Olympic stadium - finding one in Queens to replace the proposed West Side stadium.
Clinton's decision to go to Singapore has political upsides for both the senator and the mayor.
For Bloomberg, a Republican running for reelection in overwhelmingly Democratic New York, the trip will be a chance to cozy up to one of the state's most popular Democrats.
For Clinton, who many believe is running for President, it is an opportunity to represent the city and the nation on a global stage and hobnob with leaders like Blair and Chirac.
New York is competing against Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow for the 2012 Games.
With David Saltonstall
HILLARY: "A free all expenses paid trip to Singapore with plenty of flunkies to wait on me? Sure I'll go".
If done in NYC, the Olympics would likely to be a monetary loss [NY service industries and building trades, with their unions and mafiosis]. OTOH, if hillary scares the bejesus out of the Olympic Committee, they might unload the games - and the financial headache - on the French, whom it would serve right. Didn't Sun Tzu advocate the wastage of enemy resources: "one [unit of enemy property] is as good as twenty of one's own"?
A good time for a cloture vote or ten.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.