Less than two weeks ago, President Obama lament that he was too busy to go to Denmark to lobby for Chicago’s bid to host the Olympics. “I would make the case in Copenhagen personally,” he said, “if I were not so definitely committed to making real the promise of quality, affordable health care for every American.”
Obviously, his commitment to health care is no longer quite so time consuming. Mr. Obama announced Monday that he could fly to Copenhagen this week after all to lobby the International Olympic Committee for the 2016 Summer Games.
Mr. Obama changed his mind and decided to take a gamble no other American president has been taken at the urging of his close friend and senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, who has been deeply involved in promoting Chicago’s bid. He hopes to trump the presence in Copenhagen of his counterparts from rival countries looking for the games - Brazil, Japan and Spain - and duplicate the success that Tony Blair of Britain and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have had in recent years by personally lobbying for their nations’ bids.
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