Obama - Denmark - 2016 Olympics

As usual, anything Obama does is met with a huge amount of controversy and the decision to appear at the Olympic presentations is no exception. After deciding to send only his wife to Denmark, where the candidate cities will be making their pitches, Obama announced today that he will be attending as well. This move makes him the first president to actually attend one of these conferences.

A lot of people may say the timing is completely wrong, as unemployment is still high, the healthcare debate is still hot, and the Olympics will be in his final year of office anyways (assuming he wins in 2012). However, these protests are ridiculous and stretching for reasons to criticized the president. He will only be abroad for a few days (the winner will be announced on Friday) and the Olympics is a great event and honor for any country to host. This world wide event is one of the few things that really brings a country together and isn't that what we need in this time of crisis? Also, it is a great opportunity for the host city and country to show off. People announced the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the official coming out party for China, where they showed off their new money by making amazing facilities and orchestrating a grand opening ceremony. If America wins the bid for 2016, we will have an opportunity to show we are still the best and most powerful country in the world. America is in a crisis and the world is doubting our presence. Winning the bid for the Olympics can go a long way to shutting down those claims.

Obama's presence will greatly help Chicago's chance to host the Olympics and he should definitely take a few days off to make any attempt he can at winning this. The Olympics isa country uniting event and as the President, he should aim for this goal whenever he can. Every other leader from the other candidate countries is attending and it is Obama's right and duty to do so as well.