Analysis: Chicago's loss is a blow to Obama, too

From the very beginning of the electoral process I said that I hoped that Obama/Clinton didnt win. It wasnt because of a democrat or republican thing. Its because I thought that if either of them won it wouldnt be because he or she was the right person for the job, it would be because it was a "first". First african american or first woman. When Obama did win I hoped that the celebrity thing would die down. To be quite honest I dont really follow politics because I honestly believe that we dont matter in the grand scheme of things. I do think that Obama was elected just because he was the first african american man to be elected president. He pays attention to the least important things. The things that are "fun or easy" if you will. I think the fact that he cant even achieve these types of things is just a preview of what's yet to come. I honestly feel that its a game to the Obama family. What to wear, a new dog, shopping at a farmers market, planting the first garden in some years, etc. These are all that is being reported on. What about the war? What about the sons and daughters of american families who have lost their lives to save ours? What about the homeless? What about healthcare? Yes I do think this loss hurt Obama. It shows he's not cut out for the job. dl

In my humble opinion, this loss might hurt Obama since it proves those people who might admire his charm that his charm starts to fade away and it's time he behaved as a president and not as a rock star. On a personal note, I don't find him neither a celebrity nor a statesman, so for me he has no charm at all.

I hope so but this morning the media is sort of trying to down play it and I also heard that hisplan for it never got passed the first vote and maybe was never inthe running.

I think he did more harm than good. He thinks of himself as a celebrity and there he was with Opra, who is a celebrity, trying to sway the Olympic committee which consists mainly of old world aristrocrat types and they are not only not swayed by the celebrity types but are turned off by them. So the reason Chicago was last is probably because Obama and Opra were there. I'm not saying Chicago would have won but the city probably would have come in second if they hadn't gone instead of a dismal last.

In the long run I don't think this will be anything for than a blip. He will be judged on the big issues like health care, economy, Afghanistan, Iran, etc..

Obama had been put in a very invidious position. All the other bid cities had high ranking support with them in Copenhagen: Madrid had King Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, and Tokyo and Rio each had their respective countries' Prime Ministers, so there was really no way that he could avoid going. After all, just imagine what would have happened if he hadn't attended and Chicago had lost; in that case his opponents would have been claiming that by not showing up he had damaged the bid. Having said that, though, I do think this is personally damaging for him. As you say, it's never a good idea for a politician to be associated with failures or humiliations. And, in this case particularly, he didn't show himself in a good light. He arrived at the very last minute, apparently unwilling to do the behind the scenes work that this kind of thing requires, then he made a speech that was much too self centered (talking about *his* election, why *he* and *his* family would like the games to be held in *his* city), and then he disappered before the process had finished. To top it all, his advocacy failed to have any positive effect - feeding the perception that he is liked, but not listened to.

It's a setback but a very minor blip of a setback. The success or failure of his presidency is not going to rest on whether or not he gets the Olympics to come to Chicago and it can be argued in his favor that he personally went over there and talked up his country. We should worry more if we get a president who doesn't go to the PR wall for us.

It would not be fair to hold it there just because Obama used to live there. There are many places that have been waiting for their turn. I would think to have it where it would most affect the economy in a positive way would be nice! Lots of factors have to be considered.

Of course this loss will hurt Obama, as it hurts any american or Chicago season in particular. Personally I'm glad he made it all the way out to make a fool out of himself and hope it's the first of the many defeats to come under his rule.

Do I think this loss will hurt Obama? Hurt him HOW? Will it cause the Republicans in Congress to decide not to vote for health care reform? Will it make the conservative talk show hosts and other pundits stop speaking so well of him? Will it cause him to receive threats against his life or will it make some go so far as to imply he's not really an American? That's right, those things have already happened! I'm sorry for being a smart azz here but I couldn't resist. What I REALLY think is that for all but a very few people in the world this will be all but forgotten by as early as Monday. Sure, it may be briefly mentioned when the Olympics are being discussed on sports shows but that will be about it other than Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the usual suspects but that doesn't matter, if it wasn't Obama's "failure" to deliver the Olympics to Chicago it would be something else. In the whole scheme of things, I really don't and didn't care one way or another if he went or if he didn't, if he'd planned it in advance or decided at the last minute to make a brief trip. However, while I know some here will disagree with me which is fine I totally believe that if he hadn't gone and the other three countries' leaders had some of those who were so glad for Obama's "failure" would instead have been angry that the U.S. hadn't gotten the games and they'd be blaming him and saying it was "embarrassing" that he'd been the only leader not to show. I can't prove I'm right and nobody else can prove me wrong but it's just my opinion. Congrats to Rio! Annie

People who love Obama will continue to love him and will continually refused to see any fault in him even if it's blatant. People who hate him will be just the opposite. As far as the Olympics and his plea (that might not be the right term)to the committee, I personally don't think he ever had a chance, no matter what. The USA has hosted several Olympics and no country in South America ever has. It really should be their turn.

I really don't think it will hurt him that much here in the U.S. All of his supporters will downplay it and say it means nothing and is of no consequence. The fact is, he never should have gone. It's not really the President's place to go lobby for one city. He has much more important things to worry about, like maybe the problems of the entire country. It's more the place of the mayor of Chicago to go plead on behalf of his city and not something the president should be concerning himself with. The fact that he did go and was basically handed his hat by the Olympic Committee hurts his credibility far more on the world stage than here at home. After a humiliation like that, it might be a little harder to negotiate far more critical issues such as nuclear proliferation with the leaders of Iran or North Korea. He's hardly in a position of power at the moment as it appeared he thought he could sweep into Copenhagen and his mere presence would win the day. In response, the committee immediately eliminated Chicago. Could the rejection have been any more blatant? Time will tell if this setback will have any real effect because sooner or later he WILL be negotiating issues of major importance.

....ha, ha, ha, back at you :o), as we remember it, he who laughs last, laughs best. Save that comment for a reference in the future. Have a great life.

...It certainly appears that you can only let everything negative come out of your mouth about Obama. I suppose for sure, you would have preferred Senator McCain and his dementia, standing in front of his supporters and saying "my fellow prisoners" at the beginning of his speech and not even realizing what he had said, than Obama. But fear not, your wishes and hopes for him to fail and be tarnished by whatever, will not prevail. Keep your eyes open my dear, the man's name means "blessed" and nothing you or those who think like you, will have any impact, there are stronger positive forces at work, than what collective, negative thoughts and words can do against him. But do know this, when negativity is spewed, it will grow in the place where it originates, and the bad vibes will hinder any prosperity. Sunshine is so much better than dark clouds and raw negativity. So carry on. It's so interesting to read the diatribe that is written in certain corners. Pitiful, truly pitiful.

I thought it was embarrassing. I didn't think Chicago would get the Olympics, but I certainly didn't think it would get eliminated in the first round. And what did they spend in tax dollars to go over there? Something like 1.2 million dollars to fly Obama and all the security over to Demark for the whole thing. I don't think it will hurt Obama much. I was really embarrassed for him. I mean it looked so bad for all the hoopla, and then splat! They got shown the door.

It isn't a shock for me as you can't just choose a place just because it's represented by the president of USA. Rio which is chosen for the games is a far better venue when compared to Chicago. Rio is Internationally more famous for its culture and topography. Its a wonderful place to host the Olympics. I am glad it Rio and not Chicago.