(Crossposted from DemConWatch)
President Obama today, responding to a question from an IOC member on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics (bolding is mine):
One of the legacies I want to see coming out of Chicago 2016 hosting of the Games is a reminder that America at its best is open to the world. ... we [will] make sure that not only is this a successful Games, but that visitors from all around the world feel welcome and will come away with a sense of the incredible diversity of the American people.
...Chicago, we've got -- we've got everybody. This could be a meeting in Chicago, because we look like the world. And I think that over the last several years sometimes that fundamental truth about the United States has been lost. And one of the legacies, I think, of this Olympics Games in Chicago would be a restoration of that understanding of what the United States is all about, and the United States' recognition of how we are linked to the world.
That comment alone makes the trip worth it, even if Chicago doesn't get the games.