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Should President Obama be campaigning for the Olympics in Chicago?
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While not as common for American presidents, it’s very common for the head of state of a potential host nation to lobby the IOC.
Given that Chicago actually has a shot and it’s is home town, it doesn’t seem so shocking to me. They must think that shot is good enough to put the president’s endorsement on the line.
The Games could mean $23 billion for Illinois. That’s nothing to sneeze at, especially with the level of unemployment in that state today.
Although it is not uncommon for heads of state to lobby IOC.. you would think his priority would be on straightening out the U.S. and keeping to his campaign promises, especially so at this time in history. He is a great PR and marketing guy though.. spends a lot of time on TV rather than behind the desk; at least he is not on as many holidays as Bush.
I was following this debate on another forum, and most of the Chicagoans thought that it was a bad idea to have their city host the Olympics. Usually either because of the infrastructure or just that the city was too damn corrupt.
Well, most Chicagoans actually supported Olympics, as polls showed. As matter of fact, city is not allowed to host Games, if majority of residents does not support it. That’s a rule. Americans sometimes really surprise me with ignorance of basic facts. C’mon people, it does not take much to follow sports, read list of hosting cities and history of Olympic Games.
And as for national leaders going to the voting ceremony, it’s a common thing. Tony Blair, Putin and other politics were showing up at ceremonies last years. Obama is not first and not an exception from the rule. Question is how he actually influenced voting. Looks like Olympics committe was fed up with presidents and ministers pitching their countries and cities and voted other way as a protest.
Well let me clarify then:
Most of the Chicagoans ON THAT PARTICULAR THREAD, which was on Arstechnica.com, thought it was a bad idea due to the poor state of Chicago and the ‘crushing debt’ that they felt the city would be subjected to.
Obama “got had”.
Obama was told that if he showed-up, Chicago would get the Olympics.
The Olympics for one day of work is a fair trade.
Payback – Look for the United States to give the International Olympic Committee a hard time.
Well, most Chicagoans actually supported Olympics, as polls showed. As matter of fact, city is not allowed to host Games, if majority of residents does not support it. That’s a rule. Americans sometimes really surprise me with ignorance of basic facts. C’mon people, it does not take much to follow sports, read list of hosting cities and history of Olympic Games.
And as for national leaders going to the voting ceremony, it’s a common thing. Tony Blair, Putin and other politics were showing up at ceremonies last years. Obama is not first and not an exception from the rule. Question is how he actually influenced voting. Looks like Olympics committe was fed up with presidents and ministers pitching their countries and cities and voted other way as a protest.