Well, looky here. The New York Times makes many of the same observations conservatives are making about Obama’s very public effort to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Will it be accused of “rejoicing” in America’s loss? It doesn’t have the snarky tone of some conservative commentary, but the paper most likely to be sympathetic to the president is harsh, because the truth is harsh. It is hard not to question his judgment, his assessment of the politics of the IOC, his estimation of his own persuasive ability, and his risk of prestige, in light of the result, as the paper points out:
President Obama not only failed to bring home the gold, he could not even muster the silver or bronze. A dramatic 20-hour mission across the ocean to persuade the International Olympic Committee to give the 2016 Summer Games to Chicago proved such a miscalculation that his adopted hometown finished fourth of four candidate cities. Rarely has a president put his credibility on the line on the world stage in such a personal way and been slapped down so sharply in real time. While Chicago may have lost to Rio de Janeiro for all sorts of reasons that had nothing to do with Mr. Obama, the fact that he made himself the face of the city’s bid invariably meant it would be taken as a stinging rejection of its favorite son.
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