Being stuck with just one channel, I've been watching a lot of crap recently. One program I watched on sunday was "Inside the Danish court", a documentary on the danish royals. The episode was about Obama's visit to the IOC, and it reminded me of some thoughts I made back then that I never shared with you, namely that not getting the olympics wasn't a failure for Obama - in fact he never stood a chance to begin with.

Now, for those who can't remember, the four bids for the Olympics was Madrid, Chicago, Tokyo and the winner, Rio. Each city brought VIP's to speak for them, Rio had Lula and Havelange, Chigaco had Barack and Michelle, Madrid had Samaranch and Juan Carlos, and tokyo had a schoolgirl and their PM.

The media made the impression that Chigaco had brought out the big guns with Michelle and Barack Obama, and the media was full of articles about how Obama is going to ensure Chicago's bid easily, because he's such a good speaker and so charismatic, etc etc.

In reality, however, he didn't stand a chance. What everyone seemed to forget is just what kind of an organization the IOC is. For those of you who don't know, the IOC is made up of old reactionary white europeans, and have been led for two decades by the fascist Samaranch who took the concept of corruption to a whole new level. You think sending two black people into that bunch is going to make an impression? Hah! Thousand bucks say half the members were using all their energy to resist yelling "Get back to the cotton fields, you f n !!"

It wasn't Chicago who brought the big guns, it was Madrid - they knew who they were speaking to and brought an ageing fascist and a monarch. That, my friends, is how you impress 120 reactionary old white guys. That, and suitcases full of unmarked 100-dollar bills, of course... Despite having the worst application, Madrid remained until the final, where the IOC shockingly took to their senses and voted for Rio, the best bid, both practically and symbolically.

No, Obama didn't lose Chicago the olympics - they did it themselves when they decided to have him speak for them.