Did the IOC recognise a weak horse? UPDATES

Okay, so Chicago did not get the Olympics.

I was certain Obama was going to Copenhagen because it was a done deal, and he’d get a little glory for bringing the Games to his home city, and show everyone how much the world loved him.

I was wrong.

But this is a big story -and a bit of an embarrassment for the president- for one reason, and one reason only: the excessive, slobbering press created gigantic expectation. Listening to CNN this morning, you thought this was a “done” deal, the IOC was “mobbing” the Obamas and their “rock star” gloriousness.

So, for me, anyway, there is some entertainment value in this, if only to watch the press struggle to understand how it could possibly be that their narrative…did not fly:

Listen to that anchor trying to process what seems unthinkable to him: “Chicago is OUT? Wait a minute…Chicago is OUT”? In the press’ minds, this is not possible. Obama is supposed to be omnipotent.

I don’t think it helped much for Michelle Obama to go there and talk about how traveling to Copenhagen, staying in luxury accomodations and being feted by Europeans was a “sacrifice” for her, and her overly sentimental “I can dream…” presentation may well have insulted people who did not wish to be subjected to emotional manipulation. Victor Davis Hanson has more on that. And Michelle Malkin calls Michelle Obama’s presentation not sentimental, but weird.

Still, this is the press’ black eye, more than Obama’s. The besotted Obamamedia does not know how to calm itself down about this man, and so they routinely oversell him, setting him (and the nation) up for failure.

But – having said that – I cannot help but wonder if Chicago lost the games for another reason, too.

Did the IOC look at Obama -who treats his nations’ traditional allies rather dismissively, and her enemies with too much deference- and see “weakness”?

I’ll never forget what Osama bin Laden said about the decision to attack the US on her own soil, that he saw the United States, throughout the 1990’s as “the weak horse.”

Beyond all the media madness concerning these Olympic Games, Obama’s losing a bid for Chicago may well be sending another sort of message altogether to the wrong people: America is weak.

If that is the sentiment being projected, then our own media have a hand in creating the impression of weakness. Yes, it’s worrisome.

On the other hand, it cannot really be a bad thing for the overpraised Obama, personally, to hear the word “no.” It may get him to buckle down, stop the endless campaign, and start -finally- to govern. I hope he’ll consider putting a moratorium on government spending and maybe following Germany’s and Sweden’s lead in getting serious about job creation. Please.

UPDATED:
Instapundit: “I think he overestimated the power of his personality.” Always my first stop for reactions.
Eugene Robinson: Obama “invited a comeuppance.”
Victor Davis Hanson: This is a PR Nightmare for Obama
Byron York: Axelrod says “Politics sank Obama’s effort. Perhaps the Obama’s should not have treated this like a political campaign. I still think Michelle Obama’s manipulative schmaltz hurt the effort.
UK Telegraph: this creates doubt about Obama?
Fausta: a quick roundup
Okie: another roundup
Rich Lowry: Top 10 Reasons why Obama lost Olympics
Bookworm: Had a crystal ball
Althouse: sees a backlash against “all that glamorous traveling”
Flopping Aces: Blames Obama’s speech
Rick Moran: Obama risked prestige and will pay for it
Baseball Crank: What a waste