Steele: Let Michelle Make Olympics Pitch

President, first lady stump for their hometown ahead of Olympic vote

(NEWSER) - Barack and Michelle Obama made an impassioned call today to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, which the president called the "most American of American cities." In his pitch to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen, the president told of how he became "a proud Chicagoan" after a peripatetic childhood and fell in love with the diversity and ambition of the Second City. The first lady made a deeply personal presentation. She spoke about how her father instilled a love of sports in all of his children despite his battle with multiple sclerosis. More»

President Obama will stay home for health care battle

(NEWSER) - The first lady will fill in for President Obama by traveling to Copenhagen next month and pushing for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The president said he is too busy with health care reform to lead the US delegation himself. The International Olympic Committee will decide in 3 weeks whether Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, or Rio de Janeiro will host the summer games. More»

(NEWSER) - It's a big disappointment for Chicago, but how big a hit was yesterday's Olympic Committee put-down of the US's 2016 bid for the president, who stuck his neck out to go to bat for it? Of course Rush Limbaugh said it was huge, the "worst day" of Obama's presidency, and Obama had "wasted his country's time, and his prestige." Democrats, even some who advised against the trip, said it was "a stumble, not a fall," and the president should get points for trying. More»

IOC shows us the world still likes to thumb its nose at American power

(NEWSER) - The first-round knockout of Chicago’s Olympic bid speaks to an unpleasant fact, writes Mike Lopresti: “A lot of people out there don't like us. They don't care if President Obama is eloquent and the first lady is charming.” If it had come down to just Chicago and Rio, with South America never having hosted the games before, that would’ve been one thing. But “to be the first city eliminated speaks to something deeper. This was a repudiation.” More»

First visit by a president to lobby for Olympics

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Thursday to back Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said today. The president will be joined by Michelle Obama and his education and transportation secretaries. Chicago is bidding against Tokyo, Rio de Janiero, and Madrid, but none of the four cities is seen as a favorite ahead of Friday's vote. Japan's new PM, Brazil's president, and the king of Spain will be lobbying as well. More»