Media Overplays Olympic Loss

Many people--probably most people--weren't even minding the Olympic hullabaloo. But moreover, I don't think people would make the leap from Olympic loss to Obama in the doghouse. It's certainly not going to affect health care. That's kind of overreaching. Silly, really. Nice try though.
From MSNBC:

OK, so it is only the Olympics. But President Barack Obama's high-profile failure to win the games for Chicago could feed negative narratives already nipping at his heels — that he is a better talker than deal closer, more celebrity than statesman.

And this could hamper his efforts on weightier issues like health care, climate change, war.

Chicago Trib:

The reasons behind Chicago's first-round knockout in the vote for the 2016 Olympic Games will be debated for some time, but one thing is clear -- the swift defeat was a political blow for President Barack Obama and Mayor Richard Daley.

The two Democratic powerhouses staked personal as well as political capital on their hometown bid, only to see Chicago lose on the first ballot against Tokyo, Madrid and eventual winner Rio de Janeiro.

So quick was the rejection that Daley was not at the meeting center for the first round of voting. He was en route to the Bella Center, where the IOC meeting was held, when he heard Chicago had been bumped. They mayor had the driver turn the car around and went instead to a supporters party at a Copenhagen nightclub.

USA Today:

He came, he spoke — and he finished last.
President Obama's 20-hour jaunt to Copenhagen won't win a gold medal for diplomacy, though aides said his Olympic effort on behalf of Chicago was worth the time and he would do it again if necessary.

"Had he not gone, he would have been criticized for not going," said senior adviser David Axelrod, a Chicagoan who expressed disappointment as the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 summer games to Rio de Janeiro.

Rio's exciting pitch. This looks kind of awesome to me: