“'Boro church sign calls Obama a nut? - Daily News Journal” plus 4 more |
- 'Boro church sign calls Obama a nut? - Daily News Journal
- Global Lens Series brings 10 foreign films to town - Louisville Courier-Journal
- Roy Exum: Bill Fortney's Entry - Chattanoogan
- Focus on Rangel, a Chairman Under Investigation - New York Times
- Early knockout: Chicago fails to land 2016 Summer Olympics - USA Today
| 'Boro church sign calls Obama a nut? - Daily News Journal Posted: 02 Oct 2009 07:48 PM PDT (2 of 2) "He appointed a science czar who believes in population control and abortion," said Avaritt. "One czar believes animals have the right to sue their owners. These guys he is putting in, they are absolutely in left field, and they are not accountable to anyone but the president." Avaritt said the United States is supposed to be governed by legislative, judicial and executive branches, and Congress has the authority to approve nominees to protect us from getting people in leadership positions like Obama is appointing. Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander has been an outspoken opponent against Obama's 'czar' appointments. Avaritt said the latest sign is also a statement against the policies "going on in Washington," but stressed that the sign was not political. "We are not trying to influence legislation," he said. "We haven't put any names up there." But he later admitted it is somewhat political in that it is going against the policies of the day. "But it is not a personal thing and is not directed against Obama," he said. "Christians are citizens, too. We have freedom of speech just like anyone else." Drake, 43, said at her church, they only put church announcements on the outdoor sign. Across town at New Vision Baptist Church, the outdoor church sign is used to keep church members and potential visitors informed about upcoming events and the church schedule, said Ross Smith, business administrator at New Vision. "We try to communicate the standard found in God's Word," he said. "If people have that personal relationship, they can interpret God's word in today's culture and make decisions." The sign on the Thompson Lane church is also used to promote upcoming sermon series. "We are trying to engage the community. We want them to come and visit us," he said. "Enough churches are putting scripture up (on their signs)." In Drake's opinion, if Avaritt is going to speak out on issues, he is speaking at the wrong level. "We need to speak at the governor's office, and in Washington," she said. "That is where it is going to make a change. Obama is not reading his sign. We need to speak out, but not at this level." Even if Avaritt didn't direct his comments on the sign against Obama, Drake said Obama is in charge of us because he is the one choosing and picking leaders. "He is our president," said Drake. "It takes all of us to get this done." But both Drake, a 25 year employee in the grocery business, and long-time preacher Avaritt say they are praying for the president. "We are praying for our leaders," said Avaritt. "But when they are doing things they are doing now, we have to rebuke them." Bellwood Baptist church member Jack Carpenter agrees with Avaritt. "I am fed up with what is going on in Washington," said the 77-year-old retired pastor. "I think it's fine that (Avaritt) puts these signs up. I agree with him one hundred percent." Avaritt said, "it's good that Obama could be elected president. That is a milestone in history. (But) he ran as a (middle of the road) guy and now he is leaning so far left, he is going to fall over." | ||||||||||||||
| Global Lens Series brings 10 foreign films to town - Louisville Courier-Journal Posted: 02 Oct 2009 06:58 PM PDT Ten movies from Argentina, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Morocco and Mozambique will be shown in Louisville on Sundays from Oct. 4 through Dec. 6 as part of the Global Lens Series, an initiative using cinema to promote cross-cultural understanding. Presented by the Louisville Film Society and the Muhammad Ali Center, the movies include I Am From Titov Veles, about three sisters desperate to escape the hardscrabble life of post-communist Macedonia, and the darkly comic Song From the Southern Seas about suspicions of infidelity, both Oct. 4 and Oct. 11; My Time Will Come Oct. 18 and Oct. 25, involving an Ecuadorian coroner's connection with his cases; Mutum, the coming-of-age story of a Brazilian farm boy Nov. 1 and Nov. 8; and Sleepwalking Land, Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, in which a refugee from Mozambique's civil war uses an old storyteller and a dead man's diary in a quest to find lost relatives. All films will be screened at the Ali Center, where CEO Greg Roberts said in a press statement, We are excited to have the Global Lens Series here in Louisville to expose our community to such higher caliber films that vividly communicate the range, diversity, struggles and victories of some of the world's cultures. Several of the movies to be screened have been critically acclaimed. Getting Home, a Chinese film about a dying wish, won the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, and Possible Lives, an Argentine film about a woman's search for a husband who has mysteriously disappeared, was a Cinemas of the South selection at the Cannes International Film Festival. We were just excited when the Global Film Initiative reached out to us, said Tracy Heightchew, Louisville Film Society co-founder, on the Global Lens Series. We're in our third year as a community organization and our mission is to bring as much good film as we can to the city. An annual touring series rarely available at the local multiplex, the Global Lens Series was launched in 2003 by the San Francisco-based Global Film Initiative and comesto Louisville this year for the first time. The Louisville Film Society will present other series during October, including: Fringe Fest, a selection of films from the archives of Louisville-based Cinemanonymous, Thursday, at NABC Bank Street Brewhouse in New Albany, Ind.; Home Movie Day at the Filson Historical Society on Oct. 17, which showcases 16mm, 8mm, Super 8 or video transfers brought in by Louisville-area residents to be inspected, repaired and cleaned by the film society on site, then shown; the Al Smith Fellowship Series at 21c Museum Hotel, which features two documentaries by Kentucky filmmaker Sean Anderson Oct. 20; and Art After Dark: Remix, a live music, improvisational-theater and short-film extravaganza Oct. 23 at the Speed Art Museum. Reporter Larry Muhammad can be reached at (502) 582-7091. | ||||||||||||||
| Roy Exum: Bill Fortney's Entry - Chattanoogan Posted: 02 Oct 2009 08:24 PM PDT
Roy Exum: Bill Fortney's Entry | by Roy Exum posted October 3, 2009There is a man who walks among us named Bill Fortney and he well may be the greatest photographer in America. Occasionally he writes what is called a "blog" on his website, which is nothing more than an open letter with a fancy name to his many, many followers. Keeping that in mind, during my morning readings on Friday, the New York Times drew my attention to a well-documented and lengthy story about a scandal involving yet another United States Senator, this time a Republican out of Nevada named John Ensign.
Once considered to be of presidential promise, Ensign has more recently and rather arrogantly managed to sully his name, his office, his family, his Christ, and his constituents with a tawdry affair involving the wife of one of his aides. The story in the Times offers rather harsh proof this guy is probably unworthy of his seat in a government that increasingly chafes most Americans. Understand, the Times' revelation came only hours after David Letterman, the late-night jokester, alleged he was being black-mailed by a producer for having had numerous affairs with female employees (plural) at CBS. Letterman's equally arrogant sexual pandering, of course, is completely overshadowed by the extortion attempt and, while hardly a prude, I was about to cast my further readings aside until Bill Fortney's blog came under my gaze. It was entitled, "Beware of what is just beneath the water," and if, just by chance, your Friday morning was as cloudy as mine started out to be in yesterday's drizzle, perhaps by sharing what the country's greatest photographer wrote under a stunning picture he had once taken of an alligator, will give you the same comfort it provided for me. Bill calls himself "the pilgrim" (all lower case) on his website and here is Friday morning's entry to his journal: "For many years I taught a workshop every year on Sanibel Island, Florida, at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. On one occasion, standing with my students, I saw a dark patch of water in the shade and we saw a swamp rat crossing a stick on the water. "All of a sudden the water exploded when an alligator tore through the water and clamped its powerful jaws on its unsuspecting prey. It was a terrifying reminder of how close danger can be and we can be totally unaware.
"Ive gone back and forth on whether to write this entry. In the end I know I will regret it if I dont. "I feel certain Im getting the following leading. My heavenly Father is saying to me: 'Stay close to me, read my Word, be in constant prayer. Guard your heart from the evil of this world. Pray for those that are lost and deceived. Share my love with everyone that will listen.' "O.K. What brought this on? I spend a lot time on airplanes and in hotels alone. I enjoy some TV and have found a few shows I like and help me fill some of my down time. I used to download favorite shows from iTunes to watch while traveling, since my schedule never opens up when a favorite show is on. I have recently discovered 'Hulu' which allows me to catch some missed episodes for free. "(Thursday) afternoon I was looking at some of the new season's offerings to see if they might become future favorites. I never really watched 'Friends,' but when I caught a show I usually got a good laugh. I saw that Courtney Cox has a new show called 'Cougar Town' so I thought I would watch the opening episode to see if it was any good. "Less than fifteen minutes in I was shocked. This show, which is not funny, is almost pornographic. I couldnt believe the subject material it dealt with, and dealt with it in such a flippant way, in prime time! "Appalled, I turned it off and went on to a news channel. The story that was on was about the Democratic Congressman that said the Republicans health plan is for us to get sick and die quickly. "As part of the coverage they showed video of him being asked if he felt he should apologize for his remarks. He said he would only apologize to the hundreds of thousands that have died because of the Republicans. I turned that off and threw the remote across the couch. "Im truly worried about the state of our culture. This is not a left - right, or conservative - liberal, thing. This is our society as a whole. We have allowed the most disgusting material on TV; Letterman says things that would have caused his immediate firing a couple of decades ago and yet gets away with it. "Last night ( I dont watch Letterman, I saw a clip on the news Friday morning), he admitted to having had affairs with a 'number' of women associated with his show. The audience laughed, yes, they laughed. What has this world come to? "A Democratic congressman says that the Republicans want you to die and will not apologize, while his party is pro abortion which has led to 50,039,152 deaths since Roe vs. Wade (1973). How can anyone, with a straight face, accuse anyone else of any kind of failure of our system, when they support this? "I want my country back. Im afraid for my grandchildren, what kind of a world are we handing over to them. I know there are people that dont even believe there is a God and some that believe in Him, but hate Him. Those peoples actions and words are understandable. Its the rest of us that Im worried about. How could we believe in a higher power and act as we do? "I may not have written this for you, this may be me, preaching to myself. So Ill tell you what Im going to do. Im going to do all those things I listed earlier that I believe God wants me to be doing. Im also going to stand up for my country and pray for her and support her. "Im going to come to grips with the frightening reality that there are those in the entertainment industry that either have no morals or even worse want to drag everyone down to their pathetic level. Im going to further realize that sadly many of the people we have sent to Washington to represent us are only interested in self preservation. "They will say or do anything they can to destroy anyone that would take away their power. Im going to be on my knees every day for this country. I think the ending to this story will be a good one, but Im afraid we will face many hard trials before we get the outcome we are praying for. "If this ruffled your feathers, good. If Im wrong and out of line, I apologize, but I dont think I am. I think what we have in our country, and could lose, is worth getting a little worked up over. "TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, please calm my spirit. Please show me how I can exhibit Your love and still stand for what is right. Show me how to lead others to the truth that is only in you. Please heal me as you heal my nation. "Give me the strength to pray fervently for those that I despise but should be wrapping in Your love. Remind me that I was once just as lost and separated from You as they are now. Please allow me to see my world though your eyes, so that I can have more compassion and know how You would have me respond, not react. "Dear Heavenly Father, please save us from ourselves. Amen." * * * Those interested in learning more about Bill Fortney, or to see firsthand why people consider him the best there is with a camera, or to read more of his wonderful journal, please go to www.billfortney.net. royexum@aol.com
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| Focus on Rangel, a Chairman Under Investigation - New York Times Posted: 02 Oct 2009 08:45 PM PDT WASHINGTON — Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York is increasingly in the spotlight these days and not just because he is in the thick of the health care debate as chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Just as the health care fight heads to the floors of the House and Senate, Republicans are intensifying efforts to make Mr. Rangel a symbol of Democratic misconduct and institutional arrogance because of his belated disclosure of personal assets and other financial missteps. Despite some unease, Democrats say they are willing to stand by Mr. Rangel and will resist efforts to topple him from his chairmanship pending the anxiously awaited outcome of an ethics investigation that Mr. Rangel himself requested last year. "My feeling, and I think it is widely shared, is that the process should be allowed to be completed," said Representative Sander M. Levin of Michigan, a longtime Democratic colleague of Mr. Rangel on the Ways and Means Committee. Other factors are also at work in the decision by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democratic leaders to allow Mr. Rangel, the fourth-most-senior member of the House and one of the nation's best-known African-American politicians, to remain in his high-profile post for now. Plenty of Democrats are uncomfortable with the notion of Mr. Rangel's being replaced in the middle of the health care fight by the lawmaker next in line, Representative Pete Stark, a very liberal Californian with a sharp tongue and an occasionally abrasive manner. Trying to leapfrog Mr. Stark and devise an alternative line of succession could touch off a bitter intramural fight at a highly inconvenient moment. In addition, the leadership is wary of alienating the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus. Many of those votes will be needed to push through health care legislation. Some black caucus members were angry when Ms. Pelosi forced former Representative William Jefferson of Louisiana off the Ways and Means Committee before he was formally charged in a corruption case that ultimately landed him in jail. Any move to sideline Mr. Rangel, a founding member of the caucus, before a finding against him could spark serious resentment. Mr. Rangel also has a reservoir of good will among his colleagues that is helping him fend off the Republicans. "I have not heard anyone in the caucus against him," said Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland. "Mr. Rangel is a legend, and I think that people believe that the ethics folks will do their job, and all of us are hoping for the best." But Republicans are not making it easy for Democrats. Representative John Carter, Republican of Texas and a former judge, said he intended to force a vote next week on a resolution requiring Mr. Rangel to step aside from the helm of the Ways and Means Committee at least until the internal investigation is finished. A similar effort by Mr. Carter was tabled on a party line vote in February, and the same result is expected this time. But Mr. Carter said new revelations in August that Mr. Rangel had not disclosed an additional $500,000 or more in assets required some action on the part of the House, particularly after multiple tax and financial lapses were uncovered in 2008. "It all boils down to this, the public perceives — and rightfully so — that Mr. Rangel's indiscretions are being overlooked, and they know that theirs would not have been," said Mr. Carter, who said he hoped the resolution would prompt the ethics committee to finish an investigation that many think was taking too long. Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, also urged action if Mr. Rangel refused to step aside voluntarily. "It's improper for Chairman Rangel to remain in his position with all of the influence that he has while the serious allegations remain hanging," Mr. Boehner said. Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to score political points. "This is nothing more than a partisan stunt to distract from the G.O.P.'s lack of ideas to improve America's health care system and help our economy recover," Elbert Garcia, a spokesman for Mr. Rangel, said in a statement. Republicans do see political opportunity with the ethics troubles of Mr. Rangel, as well as investigations into whether senior Democratic members of the Appropriations Committee improperly steered projects to allies and campaign contributors. They would love to serenade Democrats with the "culture of corruption" refrain that Democrats so successfully employed against Republicans in gaining control of the House in 2006. But Republican efforts are being diluted by misconduct in their own ranks, including the case of Senator John Ensign of Nevada, who is drawing renewed scrutiny for his efforts to cover up an affair with the wife of one of his former top aides. At this point, Democrats say they are not overly concerned. They believe the fact that an ethics review is under way insulates them from suggestions that they are protecting Mr. Rangel. The hard decision for Democrats might come after the ethics findings. The panel could recommend that Mr. Rangel be ousted from his chairmanship. If a censure were recommended and approved by the House, he would automatically lose his chairmanship under Democratic rules. But if the ethics committee delivers a mild or moderate rebuke, Democrats might have to assess, with an eye to difficult midterm elections, whether they can take the heat of having the tax panel headed by a lawmaker who erred on his own finances and taxes. | ||||||||||||||
| Early knockout: Chicago fails to land 2016 Summer Olympics - USA Today Posted: 02 Oct 2009 07:05 PM PDT
The President and Mrs. Obama brought their usual charisma to help Chicago in the race won Friday by Rio de Janeiro. But they ran up against bloc voting and the lingering effects of a strained history between U.S. and international Olympic officials. "I'm deeply disappointed and shocked about Chicago," Australian International Olympic Committee member Kevan Gosper said. "They deserved much better."
IOC voters sent Chicago away with just 18 of 94 first-round votes before handing Rio the opportunity to host the first South American Olympics. "I hate the fact that these elegant people were here," U.S. IOC member Anita DeFrantz said of the Obamas, "and then our country got treated that way." The result blunted any perceived "Obama effect" and left the President vulnerable to critics who in recent days questioned whether he should take time out from his usual presidential duties to pitch for his wife's hometown and the city where he launched his political career. It also leaves U.S. Olympic officials to rethink their plan for regaining favor with their international counterparts. Four years ago, New York went out in the second round of voting for the 2012 Summer Olympics, after which the U.S. Olympic Committee decided to re-formulate and fortify its international relations. "The United States, within the Olympic movement, hasn't engaged as well as we could have for a long time," said Bob Ctvrtlik, the USOC's vice president, international. "And there's a lot of politics going on. This (host-city vote) isn't just on the merits." Michelle Obama arrived in Copenhagen earlier this week to meet one-on-one with IOC members. The President flew in Friday morning, addressing IOC members during Chicago's final presentation and shaking members' hands during a coffee break before departing. His message was one that plays well in international Olympic circles: That it was time for the USA to make "visitors from all around the world feel welcome." Instead of affirmation, he got a most unwelcome and unforeseen snub. "I actually feel really sorry," IOC member Rene Fasel of Switzerland said. "Everybody was shocked about the result. That's this kind of vote. It's more an accident. Because everybody expected Chicago and Rio in the end — everybody." The Obamas were already well on their way home when the end came for Chicago. The Chicago bid team was watching from a room in the convention center where the vote was held. "We're not going to put this on President Obama," Chicago 2016 chairman Pat Ryan said. "We just didn't win today. That's it." In part, the result was a classic example of how dangerous the IOC's bloc voting can be even for a frontrunner. "It was clear there was an effort to make sure Rio got this, and the only meaningful threat to Rio would have been Chicago, so all the friends of Rio were urged to try and make sure Chicago didn't get into that position," IOC member Dick Pound of Canada said. That meant eliminating Chicago as early as possible by keeping the underdogs of Tokyo and Madrid alive, with members shifting votes as needed. As the voting rounds went on, Rio essentially gained all the losers' votes. The exact machinations are difficult to determine without seeing how each IOC member voted, and the vote was by secret ballot. "I think there were a lot of people saying, if we don't get it, we'll support you, but we've got to stop Chicago," Pound said. "And that's sport politics, not anything else. It's election management. The Europeans and the Asians are much better at this than (North Americans) are." Friday's result also was the most striking rejection yet of U.S. attempts to regain premier standing in the Olympic world. "I don't think it's anti-American. I think maybe we still don't have the horsepower to do the politicking within the movement," Ctvrtlik said. The efforts of Ctvrtlik and Bob Fasulo, hired as chief of international relations in 2006, have gained the USOC some ground. But Friday's event made it clear they still have a long way to go. For example, stricter U.S. government controls instituted after 9/11 for any foreigners entering the country long have been a source of friction between U.S. Olympic officials and the IOC. That issue was raised again Friday during the question-and-answer period after Chicago's presentation. During the presentation, USOC chairman Larry Probst tried to address other underlying tensions, saying he wants to "create a legacy in which the USOC serves the Olympic movement as a vital and trusted partner." In the last year, the USOC has tangled with the IOC over revenue sharing — the USOC receives 20% of IOC sponsorship revenues and 12.75% of broadcast rights fees while the other 204 national Olympic committees share the rest — and over the USOC's plans to launch a U.S. Olympic network. The IOC is concerned such a network will undercut its U.S. broadcast partner. The revenue-sharing discussions were delayed until 2013, and the USOC put the network plans on hold. Swiss IOC member Denis Oswald, who is on the IOC's executive board, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the USOC's revenue share. "The colleagues who asked me, I said 'I would like you to forget about this, we will try to find a solution, and we should judge Chicago based on the quality of its bid,'" Oswald said, "but everyone has different approach, and I cannot say this has not played a role for a number of people." Probst said that he didn't think the disputes "had an impact" on the vote. "I met with dozens of IOC members not only in Berlin (at the track and field world championships in August) but here in Copenhagen and none of those things ever came up in discussions," he said. Yet Oswald, asked if Friday's result was a defeat for the USOC rather than Chicago, said: "That's my impression, yes." The USA hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games. It might be foolhardy to try again for 2020 since, after Rio, the IOC likely will want to rotate the Games back out of the Americas. Not since Los Angeles lost in its bids for the 1976 and 1980 Games has the USA failed to land the Summer Olympics in two consecutive votes. Los Angeles did land the 1984 Games, which because of their unprecedented commercial success, set the IOC on a path to unimagined profitability and considerably enhanced the USA's standing in the Olympic world. Those gains were lost over the last decade, first with the bid scandal that erupted in advance of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, which revealed the excesses being showered on IOC members by bid cities. Leadership turmoil at the USOC — the organization had six presidents and CEOs from 2000 to 2003 — further eroded its relationship with the IOC. That turnover abated for a few years but returned in the last year as Probst replaced Peter Ueberroth as chairman and Stephanie Streeter was named acting CEO after Jim Scherr resigned. "The kind of instability shown by USOC in recent months has not helped," Oswald said. "We had been dealing with some people, and suddenly we heard one has disappeared and one was nearly fired, and you had to start with totally new people. It's also a human relationship. It's always easier to deal with people you know and have full confidence (in)." In addition to such internal reasons, the globally unpopular policies of the Bush administration post-9/11 greatly hampered the USOC's efforts at improving international relations. Obama's election last year was seen as an opportunity to turn the tide, because of his open-arms approach and desire to re-engage with the world. But amid the arcane workings of the IOC, even that, it appears, can not get the USA over the hurdle.
— *BELOW IS USA TODAY'S STORY ON OBAMA'S PRESENTATION TO THE IOC* By Vicki Michaelis, USA TODAY COPENHAGEN — President Obama stressed his desire to make "visitors from all around the world feel welcome" as he made Chicago's case to be the 2016 Summer Olympics host here today, and his wife Michelle spoke with emotion about her father's love for sports. Together, with Michelle in the set-up role and the President as the closer, they gave a lift to Chicago's final presentation to the International Olympic Committee voters, who will choose among Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo later today. "We're very, very pleased and proud of having them here and the message they delivered," Chicago 2016 chairman Pat Ryan said. The Obamas will know by 1 p.m. ET, when the winner is due to be announced, whether the President's political gamble in coming here for a few hours paid off. Critics questioned the value and motive of his attendance with so many pressing domestic and other international issues on his plate. "I think Chicago could not have made a better presentation. Obviously, now it's up to the IOC members," the President said as he left the convention center where the IOC was meeting, headed to greet Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen before returning to the USA. He will receive the news about the winner while he's en route. In his remarks to IOC members, Obama praised the warmth and diversity of his adopted hometown, where he launched his political career. "Growing up, my family moved around a lot," he said. "And I never really had roots in any one place or culture or ethnic group. Then I came to Chicago. And on those Chicago streets, I worked alongside men and women who were black and white; Latino and Asian; people of every class and nationality and religion." Michelle Obama had been in Copenhagen since Wednesday, meeting one-on-one with IOC members to pitch for her hometown. She spoke to the members Friday about growing up on Chicago's South Side, about sitting on her dad's lap to watch the Olympics, and about her dad's commitment to exposing her and her brother, Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson, to sports despite battling multiple sclerosis. "My dad was my hero," she said, "and when I think of what these Games can mean to people all over the world, I think about people like my dad, people who face seemingly insurmountable challenges but never let go." When IOC members asked questions at the end of Chicago's presentation, Obama jumped in to answer one from Syed Shadid Ali of Pakistan, who wanted assurances that foreigners entering the USA for the Olympics would have few problems. "One of the legacies I want to see coming out of the Chicago 2016 hosting of the Games is a reminder that America at its best is open to the world," Obama said. "And, as has already been indicated, we are putting the full force of the White House and the State Department to make sure that not only is this a successful Games, but that visitors from all around the world feel welcome and will come away with a sense of the incredible diversity of the American people." Entry problems have been a critical IOC concern about the USA since 9/11 and hurt New York's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. "This (IOC meeting) could be a meeting in Chicago because we look like the world," Obama said. "And I think that over the last several years, sometimes that fundamental truth about the United States has been lost." Obama is the first U.S. president to attend an Olympic host-city vote. Rio, considered Chicago's primary rival because it offers the appeal of hosting the first South American Olympics, also has its president here, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. King Juan Carlos of Spain and new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also are in Copenhagen. Tony Blair began this parade of heads of state when, as British prime minister, he personally lobbied the IOC in the days preceding the vote on the 2012 Olympic host in 2005. IOC members credited his presence with helping London edge Paris in the final round of voting. Two years later, then-Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the vote for the 2014 Winter Olympic host and little-known Sochi, Russia, won. Chicago is bidding to become the first U.S. city since Atlanta in 1996 to host the Summer Olympics. Chicago presented first today, followed by Tokyo, Rio and Madrid. The IOC members will vote by secret ballot in rounds, with the lowest vote-getter eliminated in each round. Ninety-seven IOC members are eligible to vote in the first round. (IOC members from the countries of each bid city are not allowed to vote if that city is still in the running.) Chicago's presentation was light on technical detail, foregoing even the ubiquitous computer-simulated, bird's eye view of where venues would be located. With that view, IOC members could have been reminded once more how much closer together Chicago's planned venues are than Rio's. "The presentation was never intended to be a show," Chicago 2016 operations director Doug Arnot said.?"The presentation was intended to be a heartfelt discussion with the International Olympic Committee about Chicago and about our commitment.? Our intent was to demonstrate to them we will be good partners, and that we are people they could trust." Ryan stressed that Chicago would be able to "exclusively" focus on organizing the Games for the next seven years, a point made in contrast to Rio, which will be busy the next five years getting ready for the 2014 World Cup. Nothing resonated so much, though, as the presence of Obama, whom IOC member Dick Pound of Canada called a "superstar." President Obama spent about 20 minutes shaking hands with IOC members in a lobby after the presentation. He left with a wide smile, telling reporters, "The only thing I'm upset about is they arranged for me to follow Michelle — that's always bad." | ||||||||||||||
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