FLYING DOWN TO RIO - AT 4:21 P.M. ET:  That was the name of one of those delightful Golden Age musicals, made in 1933, and famous for featuring the first pairing of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.  Well, there'll be a lot of flying down to Rio in 2016, because the city got the Olympics for that year today. 

So, stand by for considerable gloating from Latin American enemies of the United States, who will see this as an American defeat.  The president flew to Copenhagen to pitch for Chicago, and Chicago was the first city eliminated.  You may be certain that Hugo Chavez will have something to say.

Well, he can say anything he wants.  We'll take our defeat and come back stronger next time.  Rio still has to pull off the Olympics, and it's a city floating on crime - with one of the highest homicide rates in the world.  I even heard suggestions in news coverage today that walls be built around certain parts of the city to separate the criminal element from the rest.

It's seven years away.  Obama would have liked Chicago to host the Olympics in 2016, which would be the last year of a two-term presidency.  We'll see about that.

October 2, 2009