OBAMA FOR USA
“We Like Chicago, Too” (editorial, Oct. 3) second-guesses President Obama’s lobbying for Chicago in what turned out to be its unsuccessful bid to play host to the 2016 Summer Olympics.The editorial suggests that because Chicago lost, the president had made a mistake by associating with the bid. Why would Mr. Obama go to Copenhagen if he didn’t know that a victory was in the cards? the editorial asks. Only compete if you know you are going to win seems like a curious message indeed. The very nature of such competitions is that the winner is often hard to predict.
Had President Obama not gone to Copenhagen, one can hear the grumbles that as the only leader not to show up to help with his country’s bid, he had cost Chicago the Olympics or at least hurt its chances.
Sometimes leadership requires a willingness to take stands or engage in battles or advocacy when the outcome is far from certain. Congratulations to Rio de Janeiro. And hats off to President Obama for being willing to take a shot.
Jim Whitney
Washington, Oct. 3, 2009
•
To the Editor:
After the disappointment of losing our bid to be host to the Olympics in 2016, insult was added to injury to find out that some Americans, namely many on the far right of the Republican Party, responded to Chicago’s disappointment with glee and gloating.
What has happened to this country? Have we become so divided that we cannot even muster support for an American city in a bid for the Olympic Games?
The rest of the world is watching and must be shaking heads in disbelief over the reaction of those people in this country who put their own political rancor above all else.
For me this was the greatest disappointment of all.
Janet Burke
Elmhurst, Ill., Oct. 3, 2009
(NYTimes.com)
0 comments:
Post a Comment