A Bad Bet

The world likes a weak American president, but treats him poorly. The International Olympics Committee just gave President Obama a rude slap. See this Associated Press article from Yahoo News, which lays out the grim news for Obama:

Chicago was knocked out in the first round, despite in-person lobbying by President Barack Obama — one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee.

They give the details of the voting rounds; the loss wasn't even close. BO would have been much smarter to have stayed home:

The final result was decisive: Rio beat Madrid by 66 votes to 32. Chicago got just 18 votes in the first round, with Tokyo squeezing into the second round with 22. Madrid was leading after the first round with 28 votes, while Rio had 26.

In the second round, Tokyo was eliminated with just 20 votes. Madrid got 29, qualifying it for the final round face-off with Rio, which by then already had a strong lead, with 46 votes.

Had Obama succeeded in getting the Olympics for Chicago it would have been a major victory. Losing decisively is a major loss for him, any way you look at it.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.*

Obama is not a skilled gambler. The Gambler-in-Chief couldn't see this was one of those "fold 'em" hands.

*Lyrics of The Gambler written by Donald Alan Schlitz, Jr., made famous by Kenny Rogers.