Op Ed: Obama Time for U.S. Bid

(ATR) President Barack Obama's first public utterance of the word "Olympics" as head of state probably isn't the way Chicago bid leaders had hoped it might go.

While appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Thursday night on NBC-TV (a first for a U.S. president), Mr. Obama spoke about his lack of skill on the bowling alley at the White House.

"It was like the Special Olympics or something," he told Leno.

By the end of the show, White House spin specialists were already at work to smooth over the President's slight against Special Olympics athletes.

Special Olympics was founded in 1968. It is a worldwide movement for people with intellectual disabilities, and stages a major sports event every four years. It is the only organization outside the umbrella of the IOC with legal permission to use the word "Olympics" in its name, though not the Olympic rings.

Tim Shriver, president of Special Olympics says he appreciates the apology he received in a phone call from President Obama.

"I think it's important to see that words hurt and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seen as humiliating or a put-down to people with special needs do cause pain and they do result in stereotypes."

The gaffe has nothing to do with Chicago 2016, but it does serve to drive home the point that all four cities in the race for 2016 could face: careless talk from a head of state or a mayor that turns the campaign into damage control. In 2005, for example, French President Jacques Chirac failed to help the Paris bid by insulting the cuisine of Finland the day before the IOC voted for 2012 - an IOC that at that time included two Finnish IOC members.

As Chicago heads into the final months until the IOC vote for 2016, the bid is at the point when it needs to start playing cards from the White House deck. While Chicago bid leaders have insisted the Obama administration is aboard for the Olympic bid, so far the Special Olympics blunder is the only brush Obama has had with the "O" word since becoming president.

But Obama's direct involvement may not be what Chicago really needs at this point. More essential to the bid would be signs from the White House that the federal government is behind the bid.

Chicago's challengers are already ahead in that category.

Not a week goes by it seems without some press release from Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo that reinforces the notion that there is a high level of collaboration between the bid and the national government.

And each of these cities can point to guarantees from their national governments that cover financing for the Games.

It's something Chicago does not have - nor will be likely to deliver, even with a Chicagoan in the White House.

It's a point Chicago's rivals for the 2016 Olympics wish desperately the IOC would notice. Some officials with those bids have privately suggested that without federal guarantees, the IOC should have rejected the Chicago candidacy already.

Minus guarantees, Chicago could benefit from a formal connection to the bid from the federal government, such as the naming of a key Obama deputy for the Olympics. A likely candidate might be Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of the Obamas, now a senior counselor to president - and a former member of the Chicago 2016 board.

But once the surrogates take their turn, it will be Obama time, with plenty of speculation around the world as to the role he will play. Even though the Obama administration is confronting serious economic issues - the Olympic bid is hardly a trivial pursuit.

He's had time to go on ESPN to make his predictions on the NCAA basketball tournament and to appear on late night TV to rally support for his economic programs and stumble over the Special Olympics.

Written by Ed Hula

Op Ed is a weekly column of opinion and ideas from Around the Rings. Comments, as well as guest columns are welcomed: comment@aroundtherings.com