Obama was told a trip to Olympics meeting may clinch Chicago win

His old Chicago friend calculated wrong.

www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-obama-olympics4-2009oct04,0,836075.story

chicagotribune.com
Obama was told a trip to Olympics meeting may clinch Chicago win


By Peter Nicholas

October 4, 2009

Reporting from Washington

In the run-up to the Olympics vote, the White House was getting a clear message from the architects of Chicago's bid: Balloting would be tight, and a personal visit to Copenhagen from President Obama just might lock in a victory.

Leaders of the Windy City's campaign to secure the 2016 Summer Games had done some nose-counting and were convinced that the International Olympic Committee might well anoint Chicago as host, according to White House officials interviewed Saturday.

"The intelligence that we had from the U.S. Olympic Committee and Chicago bid team was that it was very close and therefore well worth our efforts," said Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House advisor. "The message was that . . . a personal appeal from the president would make a huge difference."

In the end, Obama's whirlwind appearance before the IOC proved a disappointment. Chicago lost out to Rio de Janeiro, finishing last among the four finalists. Since the defeat, the White House has defended the trip as a worthy investment of the president's time.

................

Phone calls were the easy part. A knottier question was whether the president should travel to Denmark for Chicago's presentation Friday.

Within the White House, Jarrett relayed the argument that a presidential visit might make the difference. A close friend of the president from Chicago, she had been a strong proponent of the drive to deliver the Games.................

and also failed.

And if Chicago had won, there undoubtedly would have been screams of 'How dare he bring such a massive cost to the USA." or "Obama's Olympics are doomed to fail." or "He should have campaigned for...um...um...Houston." :eyes:

and Shrub stood for what? Lying to everybody and going into an unnecessary war. Spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year,
and he succeeded.
I'll still take Obama.

I really dislike Jarret and Emanuel. I think they're giving bad advice and he needs to ditch them both.

I woke up in the middle of the night and watched them, and was stunned. Then I heard from commentators that THEY were the strong part (Daley and Quinn were awful).

Whatever. It's over now. But he needs new and better advisors. And he needs to make better DECISIONS - can't blame the advisors for everything.

it about them".

The bottom line is the president went to try to get the Olympics in Chicago for jobs and the only failure is not trying.

So your other meme about "not blaming bad advisors" is shot outta the water.

All your fucking memes since the primaries have failed.

.... "because he didn't go," it would have been seen as a betrayal that some Chicagoans might not have gotten over. He was screwed either way. He took the option that will, ultimately, prove more forgiving among his constituents.

For example, it could have been a fake-out of the nth degree with the IOC giving ambiguous messages to the WH, letting it believe it really had a shot when the vote was planned to eliminate the US on the first ballot. And the WH advisors can't be blamed if the fix was in from the beginning but it wasn't necessarily known.

not because anyone else on the planet would hire her for such a job. A President needs the best of the best, not the best of Chicago, or of his own circle.

:applause:

THE BRIEFING ROOM

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2009

President Obama Announces New White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport


WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced the formation of the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport.

This permanent White House office will promote the values of the Olympic Movement and encourage increased youth participation in athletics. The primary function of the Office will be to enhance awareness of the Olympic Movement through promotion of its fundamental principles at the federal level.

President Obama said, "It is an important goal of my administration to give our nation’s children every possible tool they need to grow, learn and succeed in life. A key part of this is increasing access to healthy, constructive activities like sports for our nation’s children. Too many American kids – particularly those in urban areas – have no access to organized sporting activities. Sports are an important way to instill values, judgment and teamwork in our nation’s kids, and this new office reflects our commitment to giving all our children a chance to thrive. As the International Olympic Committee moves forward with their selection process we hope that this new office can serve as a model for youth involvement worldwide."

The White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport will:

Recommend federal policies and programs to the President to enhance opportunities and access for youth participation in sport, with particular focus on youth in urban areas
Foster and encourage youth sporting, educational and cultural events involving Olympic values-based programs and the participation of U.S. Olympians and Paralympians
The Office will also work in coordination with appropriate executive departments and agencies, including the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, to:

Engage in outreach to state and local government officials, nonprofit organizations and the private sector
Coordinate federal resources, and act as liaison to, any organizing committee for an Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted in the United States
And work closely with the United States Olympic Committee and national sport governing bodies to increase access and opportunities for youth to participate in sports.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-New-White-House-Office-of-Olympic-Paralympic-and-Youth-Sport/

:rofl:

We are a big country; we can take it.

Now, get over it!

they're coming straight from Fox News.

It's a bit sad we lost the Olympics but I don't get the importance here. Any President would have traveled if to see the committee if we they thought we had a chance. This is not something surprising. So even if Obama was advised or not....and even if he was told we hadn't a chance in hell--he or whoever else was in power would have went. This is nothing special----I say move on.

The calling for peoples' heads and other BS.

Geesh...Chicago was in contention. The President made a pitch. It didn't fly and the IOC finally -- in it's entire history -- chose a South American country to host the Olympics.

Next.

"I'm trying to figure out the importance of your post."

It's important to some because if he was told it was in the bag, then he looks even worse than they had hoped he would. Not only that, but there's the extra added bonus of being able to badmouth his advisors too. win-win for the fail-mongers.

I find it disgusting how transparent some people have become. I find it appalling that right-wing memes are as common here as they are on sites that don't call themselves the Democratic Underground.

And when the Boss tells you to do something, you do it.

After all, she was the one who worked on the Olympics thing.

LOL.

then those analysts all need to be out on the street