Obama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics
September 28th, 2009 . by TexasFredObama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will travel to Denmark to support Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, projecting the highest-ever White House profile in lobbying for the international event.
Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to the president, told The Associated Press Monday morning that Obama will leave Thursday and join his wife, Michelle, in Copenhagen, where they’ll make the pitch to the International Olympic Committee. Obama would be the first U.S. president to actually appeal in person to the International Olympic Committee for an Olympics event.
The International Olympic Committee is meeting in Copenhagen to select a host city for the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago faces tough competition from Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.
The White House later formally announced the trip, saying that Obama and his wife “will both make presentations to the IOC during Friday’s session. They will discuss why Chicago is best to host the 2016 Summer Games, and how the United States is eager to bring the world together to celebrate the ideals of the Olympic movement.” The IOC is scheduled to decide the site on Friday.
Full Story Here:
Obama to make in-person pitch for 2016 Olympics
Barack Hussein Obama is taking a vacation to Copenhagen, Denmark, using Air Force 1, and all of the logistics nightmare that entails, all the power of the office of President, and doing it on the taxpayers dime, on the pretense of lobbying for Chicago to be awarded host status for the 2016 Olympics. Obama is hoping that the payoffs, kickbacks and usual Chicago corruption will filter back into his retirement fund without being discovered.
There, I rewrote the opening paragraph and told it truthfully. 
“President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama symbolize the hope, opportunity and inspiration that makes Chicago great, and we are honored to have two of our city’s most accomplished residents leading our delegation in Copenhagen,” Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a statement. “Who better to share with members of the International Olympic Committee the commitment and enthusiasm Chicago has for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement than the President and First Lady.”
That Richard M. Daley is a hoot huh?
The president had held off on announcing a trip to Copenhagen, saying his first priority was the ongoing debate in Washington over health care reform. But aides said the president determined that his trip wouldn’t take away from that process. The legislation is a signature piece of his domestic policy agenda and negotiations on Capitol Hill have been contentious.
He figures, “What the hell, I’m losing anyway, might as well milk this for all it’s worth, maybe Michelle can wear another one of those dresses that the Conservatives like to make fun of…”
But with heads of state representing Rio and Madrid already scheduled to attend the IOC meeting Friday, Chicago’s bid organizers had hoped Obama would make an in-person appeal.
Here’s a novel idea, if Chicago wants Obama to go on their behalf, maybe Chicago needs to PAY for it. Just sayin’… 
