Chicago And The Olympics: Is The Fix In?

Byron York questions the timing — and the priorities — of President Obama’s upcoming overseas jaunt:

With growing pressure for decisions on life-or-death issues in Afghanistan and Iran, this morning the White House announced that President Obama will soon travel to…Copenhagen. Obama will be in Denmark for just a few hours — he leaves this Thursday and returns Friday — which is just enough time to make a pitch for Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. He’ll be following First Lady Michelle Obama, who is also going to Copenhagen as part of the promote-Chicago team.

Ramesh Ponnuru believes that the fix is already in — “Chicago Is Getting the Olympics”:

Some people seem to think that the president is taking time away from more important things to go to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago to get the 2016 games. They’re wrong. He is taking time away from more important things to go get the credit for bringing the Olympics to Chicago. Does anyone seriously believe that the president would take a quick trip to Copenhagen with the possibility of coming back empty-handed? If the president is going, it’s because he knows that Chicago has already won. He’s going.

And dissent on the matter may or may not be patriotic, but silencing it? “Hey, it’s the Chicago way,” Michelle Malkin adds.

Update: “Given the metaphysical certainty that there’ll be massive corruption involved in Chicago’s handling of the games and the equal certainty that righty blogs like this one will rub The One’s face in it, how bright was it of him to get involved in this in the first place?”

Meanwhile, the Exurban League has the Obalympics 2016 logo all set to go — it’s shovel camera-ready!