I had no strong feelings about Chicago's bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics, because hosting the games is, at best, a mixed blessing. But as I read about Chicago's failure to even make the second round of voting (the games eventually were awarded to Rio), I came across this paragraph in a story from Chicago's CBS affiliate, talking about the history of Chicago's bid. Last summer the Chicago organizers held a rally to build excitement for the city's bid, and CBS2 recalled the appearance by candidate Obama:
"At a rally in Daley Plaza five months before the election, Obama drummed up enthusiasm for the bid. He said: "In 2016, I'll be wrapping up my second term as president, so I can't think of a better way than to be marching into Washington Park alongside Mayor Daley, alongside Rahm Emanuel, alongside Dick Durbin, alongside Valerie Jarrett as President of the United States, and announcing to the world, 'Let the games begin!"
I've been around a lot of politicians in my career, which means I've been around a lot of giant egos, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone cram as much ego, presumption, arrogance and self-aggrandizement into one sentence as he did that day. That kind of hubris explains a lot of this administration's problems.
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