NYT: For Obama, An Unsuccessful Campaign ["He Could Not Even Muster The Silver Or Bronze"]

NYTimes ^ | October 02nd 2009

[Steelfish]

For Obama, An Unsuccessful Campaign

By PETER BAKER October 2, 2009

COPENHAGEN — President Obama not only failed to bring home the gold, he could not even muster the silver or bronze.

A dramatic 20-hour mission across the ocean to persuade the International Olympic Committee to give the 2016 Summer Games to Chicago proved such a miscalculation that his adopted hometown finished fourth of four candidate cities.

Rarely has a president put his credibility on the line on the world stage in such a personal way and been slapped down so sharply in real time. While Chicago may have lost to Rio de Janeiro for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with Mr. Obama, the fact that he made himself the face of the city’s bid invariably meant it would be taken as a stinging rejection of its favorite son.

The defeat will be used as a political metaphor and raise painful questions. Why did he invest so much time, taxpayer money and, perhaps most important, presidential prestige in a losing effort? How did he misjudge the potential vote so badly that Chicago evidently was not even in the top tier? What does it say about a leader who may be far more popular abroad than his predecessor yet has trouble converting that esteem into tangible benefits for the United States?

The rejection of Mr. Obama’s plea for Chicago came at a time when he could have used a feel-good victory. After racking up legislative and policy successes in the early months of his presidency, he has entered a phase where progress is more difficult. He has run into turbulence trying to pass health care, climate change and financial regulation legislation, and his poll ratings have slipped notably since spring.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Pwnd Pwesident Peter Pwinciple ~ ~

~ ~ The EGO has landed ~ ~

[Robert A Cook PE]

I think the bitter experience the IOC got from a comparable (black, democratic, corrupt) inner city government in Atlanta in 1996 threw a shoe in the works against Chicago: The favoritism and crony jobs, payoffs, and bad taste - particularly of the tacky thousands of sidewalk sales hand trucks and booths “licensed” by the mayor's buddies - for a big fee for each - was seen as only a part of the corrupt Chicago tradition.

And what? There are dozens of murders up there in Cook county. Think they are going to ignore that?

[Karliner]

I still say that bus needs blood stains and was probably rented from Bubba Clintoon if it has a roof window with old Stinger scars from the Vince Foster( and etc) murders.

[hoosiermama]

How many “I” “me” ‘my” did Ohaha and Mabelle use in their speaches....?

[mojitojoe]

LOTS, enough to cause this:

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Jumping in at the 11th hour doesn’t usually work.

[Incorrigible]

Cross referencing threads:

Lame Gray Lady: NYT Scrubs Major Portion of Original Obama-Olympics Article [FR mentioned]

 

[NRA1995]

Bush’s fault