Chicago or Rio, sausage or samba
President Obama's decision to visit Denmark and campaign personally for Chicago's bid to hold the 2016 summer Olympic games seems to be a questionable decision. Chicago is a great city and no doubt would be a excellent venue for the games if chosen. The other apparent main candidate is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As still what some call the "leader of the free world", shouldn't the U.S. President should be thinking and acting broadly, not parochially, in all uses of his, and our, power. Should he be risking his international political capital on a sports event. Should he transparently be representing not only a U.S. city but his hometown, his first political power base, a city and state famed for self dealing and corruption. Valerie Jarrett, his Bert Lance, thinks so, and off he and Michelle go to Denmark.
It would be wonderful if Chicago got the nod. It would also be wonderful and perhaps more important from a geo-political point of view if the games went to Brazil. No South American country has ever hosted an Olympic games, summer or winter. London hosts the 2012 summer games, Vancouver hosts the 2010 winter games, and Russia hosts the 2014 winter games -- two Anglos and a traditional host like the U.S. in recent times. With political tensions and concerns about stability rising in some parts of South America, the inclusion of Brazil into this exclusive club of Olympic hosts would bring another BRIC(Brazil, Russia, India, China) into the fold of one of the international community's cherished platforms, much desired by emerging political and economic powers as China showed last year. With that perspective President Obama is scrapping like a White Sox fan to grab the invitation and the opportunity for an infrastructure construction windfall for his windy city.
Would it have been better for him to cheer on Chicago from afar, more as a representative and leader of the United States as opposed to a political operative from Chicago. Could it be possible for him to look at the big picture here and a larger perspective. Apparently not, and his circle of Chicago insiders led by Jarrett get their way.
AFTERWORD written a day after the above commentary:
The current New Yorker arrived yesterday afternoon and I read Jon Lee Anderson's article "Gangland, life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro". While familiar with this problem, it is revelatory to read about hundreds of essentially independent criminal and warring city-states within the poor sections of Rio. It certainly casts some doubt on the viability of Rio as an Olympic site. Of the four candidates, Madrid is out of the question it seems as another European location, London, has the 2012 games and Spain, Barcelona, played host to a games in 1992, recent for a relatively small country. Tokyo could potentially come from the back of the pack for both its capacity to pay for the games and the unquestionable security that can be provided. The recent land of the setting sun could rise again. Brazil is a leading candidate, for the reasons detailed above an attractive one, but with an ongoing internal war to control this huge city, will the Olympic committee get cold feet. It may be that the U.S. and Chicago are already the leading candidate and the President is showing up in Denmark to seal the deal rather than plead the case.
As still what some call the "leader of the free world", shouldn't the U.S. President should be thinking and acting broadly, not parochially, in all uses of his, and our, power. Should he be risking his international political capital on a sports event. Should he transparently be representing not only a U.S. city but his hometown, his first political power base, a city and state famed for self dealing and corruption. Valerie Jarrett, his Bert Lance, thinks so, and off he and Michelle go to Denmark.
It would be wonderful if Chicago got the nod. It would also be wonderful and perhaps more important from a geo-political point of view if the games went to Brazil. No South American country has ever hosted an Olympic games, summer or winter. London hosts the 2012 summer games, Vancouver hosts the 2010 winter games, and Russia hosts the 2014 winter games -- two Anglos and a traditional host like the U.S. in recent times. With political tensions and concerns about stability rising in some parts of South America, the inclusion of Brazil into this exclusive club of Olympic hosts would bring another BRIC(Brazil, Russia, India, China) into the fold of one of the international community's cherished platforms, much desired by emerging political and economic powers as China showed last year. With that perspective President Obama is scrapping like a White Sox fan to grab the invitation and the opportunity for an infrastructure construction windfall for his windy city.
Would it have been better for him to cheer on Chicago from afar, more as a representative and leader of the United States as opposed to a political operative from Chicago. Could it be possible for him to look at the big picture here and a larger perspective. Apparently not, and his circle of Chicago insiders led by Jarrett get their way.
AFTERWORD written a day after the above commentary:
The current New Yorker arrived yesterday afternoon and I read Jon Lee Anderson's article "Gangland, life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro". While familiar with this problem, it is revelatory to read about hundreds of essentially independent criminal and warring city-states within the poor sections of Rio. It certainly casts some doubt on the viability of Rio as an Olympic site. Of the four candidates, Madrid is out of the question it seems as another European location, London, has the 2012 games and Spain, Barcelona, played host to a games in 1992, recent for a relatively small country. Tokyo could potentially come from the back of the pack for both its capacity to pay for the games and the unquestionable security that can be provided. The recent land of the setting sun could rise again. Brazil is a leading candidate, for the reasons detailed above an attractive one, but with an ongoing internal war to control this huge city, will the Olympic committee get cold feet. It may be that the U.S. and Chicago are already the leading candidate and the President is showing up in Denmark to seal the deal rather than plead the case.
posted by John Borden at 2:37 PM
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