BULLETIN:  NO TO CHICAGO - AT 11:54 A.M. ET:  Chicago has been eliminated as host of the 2016 Olympics, the elimination coming in the very first round of voting.  It is a stunning defeat for President Obama, who personally went to Copenhagen with the first lady to make a pitch for their home city.

Frankly, I think we're better off.  I like Chicago.  It's a great city.  I went to the University of Chicago and worked in Illinois politics.  But the city is plagued with problems, and polls showed a decided lack of enthusiasm on the part of its residents for hosting the games.  The cost factor loomed large.  Hustlers come in and advertise huge benefits for a city acting as host, but other cities have lost considerable sums of money. 

I suspect that we the American people would have wound up paying for the 2016 games.  We can watch them on TV from either Rio or Madrid, the two cities left in competition.

The last games in the United States were held in Atlanta in 1996.  Apparently, the international Olympic people were less than thrilled.  Maybe that was a factor in rejecting Chicago.

Some good can come out of this.  Maybe President Obama will finally realize that he can't convince everybody of everything.  He has been rebuffed constantly on the international stage.  Being The One may have great sway with college students.  It doesn't much cut it with the governing crowd.

October 2,  2009