President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama delivered strong personal and emotional pleas to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen today to name Chicago the host city for the 2016 Summer Games. But early voting by the IOC eliminated the U.S. city, along with Tokyo. Rio de Janeiro and Madrid remain in the running.

Highlighting Chicago's diversity, Obama talked about the town he embraced as a young man after growing up rootless; Mrs. Obama told the IOC about the city where she was raised.

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PD toolbar!The president's quick trip to and from Denmark will encompass about 21 hours; Mrs. Obama's visit will be longer, as she arrived on Wednesday.

Republicans are complaining about Obama's sprint to Copenhagen, as if taking a few hours to make a sales call for a U.S. city to land the Olympics is a waste of time.

The Republican National Committee hurled a press release after Obama spoke, making the ridiculous claim that if the president had stayed in Washington for those few hours, there would be more jobs in the U.S. Getting steamed about Obama jetting to Denmark is a cheap shot and makes Republicans look silly -- as if they can't distinguish between real and made-up issues they have with the president.

The RNC quoted a jobless Chicago construction worker in its press release to make its point, but actually picked the wrong guy. Workers in the building trades in the Chicago area would be among those likely to benefit if the city gets the Olympics.

To further erode the GOP argument that Obama was wasting valuable time, White Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters flying on Air Force One that the aircraft was holding on the tarmac in Copenhagen so the president could meet with Gen. Stanley McChrystal to discuss the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

McChrystal flew to Copenhagen from London; Gibbs said Obama asked for the meet-up when he learned that the general would be "a short flight away." The meeting was about 25 minutes.

After the IOC presentation, the Obamas were scheduled to travel to the Christiansborg Palace to greet Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and His Royal Highness Prince Consort Henrik, followed by a visit with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen before heading back on Air Force One. They are due to arrive at Andrews Air Force base at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

As for the Obamas' plea to the Olympics' governing body, really good politicians know that if you want to make sure you get a vote, you have to ask for it. The IOC has 106 members and the winning city needs 50-plus votes.

"And so I urge you to choose Chicago. I urge you to choose America," Obama said. "And if you do, if we walk this path together, then I promise you this: the city of Chicago and the United States of America will make the world proud."

Said Mrs. Obama, "I'm asking you to choose Chicago. I'm asking you to choose America."

Chicago's sales pitch was the first to be proffered, followed by rivals Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid. Voting could go several rounds, with the winning city expected to be named early Friday afternoon.

Chicago's presentation ran about 45 minutes and included several videos, all celebrating the diversity of the city. The blues hit "Sweet Home Chicago" was the soundtrack on one of the videos. Chicago is considered the home of the blues.

"I pledge to you today, Chicago will deliver," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. All of the men in the delegation -- except the president -- wore matching ties, though Obama's was closely similar. Mrs. Obama's dress was gold.

That's what the city was going for.

In early September, Obama said he could not promise to make the Copenhagen trip because of his ongoing battle with Congress over health care, and that Mrs. Obama would take his place. But he always kept open the option of going.

I heard there was some concern among his staff about his taking the time for the trip if Chicago does not win.

The argument for Obama joining the bid team was strong, however, and I think never really in doubt: No handicappers had a clear 2016 frontrunner and Obama could possibly swing a few votes. The health care legislation was moving, albeit toward an uncertain future, but is not dependent at this moment on Obama's presence in Washington.

And other heads of state were going to be in Copenhagen pitching for their countries: New Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama; Brazil President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos.

Obama's doctrine of a new internationalism, where the U.S. is more of a team player, was strengthened by his appearance, whether or not Chicago wins the Games.

Obama used Chicago as a metaphor when he spoke of how his election was a chance for the U.S. "to forge new partnerships with the nations and peoples of the world."

"No one expects the Games to solve our collective challenges. But we do believe that in a world where we have too often witnessed the darker aspects of our humanity, peaceful competition between nations represents what is best about our humanity. It brings us together, if only for a few weeks, face to face.

"It helps us understand one another just a little better. It reminds us that no matter how or where we differ, we all seek our own measure of happiness, and fulfillment, and pride in what we do. And that is a very powerful starting point for progress."

Obama added, "And while we do not know what the next few years will bring, there is nothing I would like more than to step just a few blocks from my family's home and welcome the world back to our neighborhood."

Mrs. Obama's six-minute speech contained themes about the Olympics we've been hearing from her in the run-up to her visit.

"I was born and raised on Chicago's South Side, not far from where the Games would open and close. Ours was a neighborhood of working families -- families with modest homes and strong values," she said. "Sports were what brought our community together. They strengthen our ties to one another."

She talked about her late father, Fraser Robinson, a sports fanatic who suffered from multiple sclerosis.

"Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis, and others for their brilliance and perfection. Like so many young people, I was inspired. I found myself dreaming that maybe, just maybe, if I worked hard enough, I too could achieve something great. But I never dreamed that the Olympic flame might one day light up lives in my neighborhood."

Mrs. Obama, who spent Wednesday and Thursday meeting with individual IOC members, passed the baton to the president, who closed the presentation.

"I know you face a difficult choice among several great cities and nations with impressive bids of their own," he said. "So I've come here today to urge you to choose Chicago for the same reasons I chose Chicago nearly 25 years ago -- the reasons I fell in love with the city I still call home."

Both Obamas' speeches were crafted to address particular IOC concerns. Chicago's diversity was stressed because it's a selling point -- every nation would have a built-in cheering section and people who spoke their language and knew their customs.

Said Obama: "You see, growing up, my family moved around a lot. And I never really had roots in any one place or culture or ethnic group. Then I came to Chicago. And on those Chicago streets, I worked alongside men and women who were black and white; Latino and Asian; people of every class and nationality and religion.

"I came to discover that Chicago is that most American of American cities, but one where citizens from more than 130 nations inhabit a rich tapestry of distinctive neighborhoods.

"Each one of those neighborhoods -- from Greektown to the Ukrainian Village; from Devon to Pilsen to Washington Park -- has its own unique character, history, song, and sometimes language. But each is also a part of our city -- one city -- a city where I finally found a home."

And the winner is . . .


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