So the Olympics won't be in Chicago in 2016, and Obama and Michelle went to make final pitches. It was not a waste of time, and the fact that Chicago didn't get the bid is nowhere near a "stunning blow/defeat" for President Obama or his administration. Would it have been nice to have the Olympics here? Some say yes, some say no. Was Obama wrong to try to get the Olympics to come here? No. He took 4 hours of his life and tried to make a pitch for the Olympics. From what I hear he gave a damn good speech, as did Michelle.
Meanwhile, he was still getting briefed on Air Force 1 about the situation in Afghanistan, he traveled TO Copenhagen at night when he probably would have been SLEEPING anyway. He's already on his way back. Nothing was gained, but nothing was lost. So stop with the right wing talking points that somehow this HURTS Obama. No matter what there would have been criticism. Now that Chicago didn't get the bid, the talking point is that he "wasted his time", but had Chicago gotten the bid, the talking point would have been "how are we going to pay for this?" Don't let the right wing win. I suggest you just stay away from 24 hour news stations for a while.
See, here pics of him from today when he's on AF1 talking to Gen. McChrystal:
Here is is yesterday having a strategy meeting about Afghanistan in the White House:
Face it, we have a President who can do more than one thing at a time.
Now, please enjoy these pics from this morning:
(BTW, the slideshow is even better in fullscreen :o) )
Update [2009-10-2 12:53:42 by Muzikal203]: Also, as Jennifer points out:
Denmark is one of our strongest allies in Afghanistan. Obama met with the Queena and Prince and Prime Minister while there. That's rather newsworthy, in my opinion.
http://www.ambottawa.um.dk/...
[UPDATE #2] Pres. Obama is already back at the WH and speaking now (3:30 PM ET). He must have heard the chatter because he took the time to say that it was NOT a waste of time for him to go. Then he started talking about the jobless numbers. (SN: I think he looks exhausted, he's gonna sleep like a rock later)
Politico44 has part of his remarks:
"I could not be prouder of my hometown of Chicago, the volunteers who were involved, Mayor Daley, the delegation and the American people," Obama says. "I do want to congratulate Rio de Janeiro and the nation of Brazil for winning the 2016 Olympics. I think this is a truly historic event ... As neighbors in the Americas, as friends of the Brazilian people, we welcome this extraordinary sign of progress."
POTUS says he phoned Brazilian President Lula to congratulate him and tell him he looked forward to seeing America's athletes compete in his country.
"I believe it's always a worthwhile endeavor to promote and boost the United States of America and to invite the world to come see what we're all about," he continues.