Olympic Follies

News just came down about how Chicago, and thus the United States, lost out on its bid to host the 2016 Olympics — in spite of the lobbying of heavyweights such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and the US president, himself.  I couldn’t have cared much less either way, but I do find the outcome kind of amusing.  I never knew that US presidents got directly involved in lobbying for the Olympics to come to a US city.  So, to me, it seemed kind of beneath the president to fly to Copenhagen to make a case for Chicago, directly.

Now, I’m not one of those who has ever thought much of the “there are more important things to be doing” argument.  Just because the president is on a plane to Europe, or taking a “vacation”, or attending a ballgame, or whatever, that doesn’t mean he is neglecting his other responsibilities.  The president never has a day off.  He is always connected, always being briefed, and always engaged.  That is true of this president as well as any other (I thought the ire directed at GW Bush, for his August “vacations” at his ranch, was completely ridiculous).  So, I think it’s a shame that Republicans chose to make so much noise about the president’s priorities being out of order.

Still, it did seem odd to me that the President would be involved (directly) in lobbying for the Olympics.  The fact that it was for his own city made it even more unseemly, for me.  Which is one reason why I chuckle at the rejection.  I also think it’s funny that the president would get involved without being pretty certain of the outcome.  Seems like a bit of a (worthless) risk for the president to take.  Now, perhaps this president believes too much in his own myth.  Maybe he thought that, because the whole world obviously loves him so much (in his mind), there was no way they’d say no to a direct plea from him.  That also makes the result kind of funny.

But the biggest factor that makes this whole thing amusing to me is the way in which President Obama and his people tried to sell Chicago as the obvious choice for the Olympics.  Here’s what Rahm Emanuel had to say:

There’s no better city in the United States or the world to host the international community than Chicago — because of the diversity.

The world will feel comfortable given the diversity of Chicago all the different ethnic communities are there.

So, let me get this straight, diversity is what makes a city a good place to hold the Olympic games?  Diversity is what’s going to make the world “feel comfortable?”  Seriously?  That’s the case you guys are making?  No wonder you lost.  The world doesn’t need to be coddled.  “Hey guys.  Look, Chicago is just like all of you.  See?  There’s nothing to be scared of.  (Eh-hem, nevermind the beatings in the streets based on skin color.)”  Isn’t the diversity of the host city beside the point?  Isn’t the point to help to introduce the host city/country to the diversity of the rest of the world, under peaceful circumstances, and to help to introduce the visiting countries to the culture of the host city/country, regardless of what that may be?  China just hosted the Olympics in Beijing.  I can’t imagine that anyone would call Beijing an exceptionally diverse city.  And yet, it was a great place to host the games, as one of the goals of the games is to help break down barriers between peoples/nations.

In the grand scheme of things, this whole episode is pretty meaningless.  However, it does seem to highlight how self-important, naive, and silly this crew can be, bolstering the case that Obama is truly “The Adolescent President.”