Problems await Obama after Chicago loss
By Edward Luce in Washington (Financial Yimes of London

He came, he pitched and he flew back empty-handed.

Even before Chicago was eliminated, critics had lampooned Barack Obama’s trip to Copenhagen as a misplaced exercise in
“I don’t view this as a repudiation of the president or the first lady,” said David Axelrod, Mr Obama’s senior advisor and a fellow Chicagoan. “It didn’t work out but it was worth the effort.”

On Friday Mr Obama’s critics on the right were joined by many in the media, which had already raised questions about his priorities.

More immediately, the rejection is likely to intensify questions about Mr Obama’s allegedly vaunting self-belief. Although Mr Obama spent only a few hours in the Danish capital, and although other leaders were there to bat on behalf of their cities, Barack and Michelle Obama couched their pitches in biographical terms. By personalising Chicago’s appeal, Mr Obama put his own reputation on the line.

“Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago . . . to watch the results of the US presidential election,” Mr Obama told the Olympic committee. “Their interest wasn’t about me as an individual . . . Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America’s experiment in democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and ideals . . . And so I urge you to choose Chicago!”

The fallout from Mr Obama’s quixotic trip will overshadow more important White House initiatives, including his attempts to push through universal healthcare, his review of America’s role in Afghanistan, and attempts to revive the US economy. It did not help that Friday’s rejection coincided with the announcement of a 263,000 increase in US joblessness.

Chicago’s loss will also come at the expense of focus on Mr Obama’s success on Thursday in Geneva, where the US persuaded Iran to agree to open up its second uranium enrichment site to inspection. This moment was arguably a vindication of Mr Obama’s strategy of engagement. On Friday he described Chicago’s Olympic bid as part of his overall effort at re-engaging with the world.

“I ran for president because I believed deeply that at this defining moment the USA has a responsibility to forge new partnerships with the nations and the peoples of the world,” he told the Olympic committee.

Supporters fear Mr Obama has given easy ammunition to conservative critics of international engagement – a posture based implicitly on the president’s persuasive charms. Bill Galson, a veteran analyst, said: “The timing is unfortunate because it steps all over a good story coming out of Geneva [on Iran]. The media in Washington are like six-year-old soccer players: they all run after the same ball.”

The episode is also likely to renew focus on Mr Obama’s Chicago network. The president is thought to have been urged to go to Copenhagen by Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, and former aide to Richard Daley, the mayor of Chicago. Michelle Obama also worked for Mr Daley.

On Thursday, Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama’s chief of staff, also from Chicago, teased Mr Obama’s critics. “You know we’ll make sure they get some good seats once Chicago does host the games,” he told ABC News

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