Nov 25, 2008 9:03 pm US/Central
Eye On The Gold: The Obama Factor
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The state of the economy may be an unexpected hurdle for Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. It's a new challenge to America's image abroad and to the president-elect as we keep our eye on the gold. As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports it is a factor no one's mentioned until now - threatening the big boost Chicago got from Barack Obama.
On election night, when magnificent views of Chicago and its people were being beamed around the world, Rachel Bronson, whose office overlooks Grant Park - celebration central for Barack Obama and a proposed Chicago Olympics - was in Dubai.
"People were coming up, patting me on the back, saying congratulations," said Rachel Bronson, Chicago Center for Global Affairs.
Riding that wave of good will Barack Obama will try to follow in the footsteps of Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, whose personal pleas to International Olympic Committee voters are thought to have won the 2012 summer games for London and the 2014 winter games for Sochi.
A slam dunk you say? Not so fast.
"The fact that President Obama can be more successful or persuasive than either Putin or Blair doesn't mean we will get the Olympics," said International Business Consultant Marvin Zonis.
Zonis has been getting bad vibes for months.
"Obama has to overcome extraordinary ill will towards this country because the world believes that we caused the economic crisis," Zonis said.
The plan is for Obama to arrive in Copenhagen at the end of September for several days of face-to-face meetings with individual delegates, before taking the lead role in Chicago's formal presentation on October 2nd. What happens between now and then is crucial.
"It's a period like after 9-11 when the world said, 'We're all Americans' and I think we're in another moment like that," Bronson said. "And it's up to the president and his team to find a way to sustain it."
But even Obama says the economic situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
"He's got to overcome the perception that the United States has driven the world close to bankruptcy," Zonis said.
It could well come down to whether the worldwide affection for Obama outweighs the animosity over the economy. Chicago may well be the favorite right now, on the strength of its favorite son's election - but 10 months is a long time to hold a lead in any race.
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