Chicago 2016: Bid loss leaves political sting

"It's never good for a president to attempt something that's highly visible and fail at it," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, an expert in political communication at the University of Pennsylvania. "But the question is, does the public perceive that Obama should have credit for trying, or will he be compared to another world leader, like (former British Prime Minister) Tony Blair, who made the (London 2012 Olympics) pitch for his country and won?"

Barack Obama already criticized by GOP, while Richard Daley left to confront realities of games-free city
By Rick Pearson and Katherine Skiba (Chicago Tribune)

Chicago's first-round knockout from the 2016 Olympics derby represented a worst-case scenario for President Barack Obama, a stunning international rejection to the hometown president's plea to help restore U.S. links to the rest of the world.

Rather than grabbing the gold for Chicago, Obama returned to Washington, where he faced partisan critics who already had questioned his use of personal and political capital on a parochial issue.

"One of the things that I think is most valuable about sports is that you can play a great game and still not win," Obama said upon his return to the White House. "I believe it's always a worthwhile endeavor to promote and boost the United States of America."

Obama's trip could have provided a quick victory for a president mired in domestic battles over plans to reform health care, the recessionary economy, war in Afghanistan and nuclear proliferation in Iran. But the Chicago rejection magnified the ramifications of his damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't decision to go to Copenhagen.

In a statement before the vote, the Republican National Committee accused Obama of taking an "Olympic gamble that only helps his Chicago fat-cat friends." After the vote Michael Steele, GOP national chairman, displayed the often contradictory nature of today's politics by saying he was "disappointed" with the Olympics vote while he invited the Democratic White House to give its "undivided attention" to urgent issues facing the nation.

A disappointed Mayor Richard Daley faced a less politically partisan homecoming, though the sting may be worse because he had derided the Olympics selection process before throwing his weight behind a Chicago bid in 2005. The mayor was counting on a win to boost Chicago's economy and reinvigorate his own standing to develop a lasting legacy for himself amid bubbling questions about his dominance of the city's political landscape.

"This was not a political adventure," Daley said in countering questions about what the loss will mean for his political future. Daley's Olympics pursuit had provided him an avenue to divert attention from persistent controversies over jobs and contracts within his administration, as well as the city's problem-plagued budget.

The rapid defeat caught both Daley and Obama by surprise. The mayor was en route to the hall where Olympics officials were voting when Chicago was rejected, and Obama was aboard Air Force One. The president watched the voting in the conference room aboard the presidential jet with first lady Michelle Obama and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

"People were stunned and were trying to figure out how on the first ballot this could have happened," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who accompanied the president.

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