Chicago 2016: So Oprah’s not magic after all

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She may have been able to win over some segments of the U.S. voting population (not giving her full credit for that one), revitalize the book publishing industry, the icky celebrity tell-all industry, and Pontiac (momentarily) when she gave her audience brand-new cars five years ago.  But Oprah’s magic evidently fell a little short in Copenhagen, where the members of the International Olympic Committee seemed immune to her fabulosity and voted Chicago out of the running for the 2016 Olympics.

To some observers, it appeared that Chicago’s bid had been fast gathering momentum in the last week. Daley and others began to show their confidence as one piece after another fell into place. From First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey’s early commitments to travel with them to Copenhagen, to President Barack Obama’s late decision to go, to bad news trickling out about the Rio’s bid, indicators looked to be going Chicago’s way.

But members of the International Olympic Committee are known for being unpredictable, even impulsive, when they gather to pick a host city.

And in 2016, it won’t be Chicago.

via Early exit stuns Chicago — chicagotribune.com.

Which makes me a little sad. Chicago’s one of my semi-adopted hometowns, and while I’m glad I wouldn’t have to live through the traffic there during the Games, it would’ve been a great host. Even in spite of these guys (who may have been a strike against it) and this guy.

Now comes the hand-wringing and serious analysis about what the failure of President Obama and the First Lady to convince the IOC of Chicago’s fitness really means — America’s loss of prestige, power, etc.  Not to mention what it’ll mean for the climate change policy talks scheduled for Copenhagen in December.

For now, the rest of us will just have to contend with the notion that Oprah’s a mere mortal after all.

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