UPDATE: Chicago's stunning loss; Mayor Daley to blame?
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Today, in just a few hours, the International Olympic Committee will determine which city wins the right to host the 2016 Olympics: Chicago, Tokyo, Rio, Madrid, and Tokyo.
According to GameBids.com, which tracks the progress of Olympic bids, President Obama's decision to appear in Copenhagen and give a speech to the IOC was boosted Chicago's chances for winning. This is part of Obama's speech:
GameBids.com's BidIndex was changed to include Obama's impact, causing Chicago's score to increase to 61.24, just behind the 61.42 for Rio. It's a tight race, but GameBids forgot about Michelle Obama' and this impassioned speech.
Mrs. Obama's speech, focusing on her father, is just beautiful. Really something. I think it's the difference-maker.
This is the first time in Olympic bidding history that both the President of The United States and the First Lady of The United States gave speeches in support of an Olympics bid.
As one born and raised in Chicago for much of my young life, and who has family there, I would love to see "The City With the Big Shoulders" get the Olympics. Chicago teaches one to think big and to see possibilities. That city made me and it never left me even as we moved to Oakland, Ca, which I see as very much like Chicago.
This is Chicago's 2016 Olympics video:
And this is Chicago's presentation in Milan earlier this year:
Chicago 2016: Host Presentation
Uploaded by aipsmedia. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.
Moreover, the Summer Olympics are long overdue for a return to America. The last time was 13 years ago in 1996 in Atlanta, and that was a true success. In our poor economy, at this time, it woulc be a massive shot in the self-esteem arm to get the games.
IOC Olympics voting process
According to GameBids.com, this is how the voting process will work:
Each city will give final presentations to the voting International Olympic Committee members. The drawn order of the presentations is Chicago, Tokyo, Rio and Madrid. Each city will have 70 minutes including a period for questions and answers.
Chicago will present at 8:45 AM Tokyo will follow at 10:45 AM. Next is Rio de Janeiro at 12:05 PM, then Madrid at 2:15 PM.
After the presentations, the Evaluation Commission will review their report with the IOC members.
Voting will commence a 5:10 PM local time in Copenhagen - it will be by secret electronic balloting.
Any city requires 50% +1 votes to win a ballot. If no city receives enough votes to win, the bid with the least amount of votes is dropped from the ballot and the remaining cities are added to a new ballot. There could be as many as three ballots.
There are currently 106 IOC members. Members representing countries with a bid city on the ballot may not vote. There are two members from the United States, two from Japan, two from Brazil and one from Spain. These members may vote in subsequent ballots if their city is eliminated.
There is one suspended member who may not vote and the IOC President Jacques Rogge will not vote. In total, there are 97 eligible votes on the first ballot. This number may be reduced if any voters are excused.
If there is a tie vote on he final ballot - the IOC President can cast a tie-breaking vote.
After each ballot the IOC President will announce either that a winner has been declared or he will name the city that is eliminated from the next ballot. After the final ballot, the name of the winning city is sealed until the annoucement ceremony at 6:30 PM local time.
After the announcement, the host city contract signing will folllow at 7:30 PM.
Games good for America
To me, opposing the games for America is just plain un-American, a tag that could rightly be put on conservatives like Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin, who really want to see President Obama fail, and would obviously undercut America's best interests to make that happen.
I'm not saying they can't have an opinion, but why go against America when its competing around the World for the Olympics? If Bush was headed over there, they'd be all for the Olympics, and they know it.
You can't claim to love your country and do what they're doing. When it matters most, America needs all hands on deck. Beck, Malkin, and Hannity know nothing of urban planning or public sector economics to make an informed comment about Olympic bids. As one who's formed the bid to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland, I do. Their opposition is purely political.
Go Chicago! Go USA!
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