(Yahoonews).President Barack Obama had a message Friday for the many people — including himself — who put "heart and soul" into Chicago's losing bid for the 2016 Olympic Games: "A" for effort.
"You can play a great game and still not win," Obama said at the White House, shortly after returning from Copenhagen where his in-person plea did not put Chicago over the top. "Although I wish that we had come back with better news from Copenhagen, I could not be prouder."
Obama expressed no regret at putting so much on the line for the failed effort.
"I have no doubt that it was the strongest bid possible and I'm proud that I was able to come in and help make that case in person," the president said.
His chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters that Obama got the bad news aboard Air Force One as he and his wife, Michelle, flew back to Washington from the Danish capital. He was watching TV alone in his quarters on the presidential jet.
Mrs. Obama had gone to Copenhagen ahead of her husband and had lobbied hard for the Summer Games to be brought to her hometown and his adopted hometown.
Chicago's early exit from finalist balloting represented a personal setback for Obama and a painful defeat for Chicago, America's most prominent Midwestern city. The president put his personal prestige and political capital at risk when he decided late in the competition to go to Copenhagen and make a personal appeal.
"Absolutely," Gibbs replied, when asked whether Obama was glad he'd made such a large commitment to lobbying for the Games. He said the president "would never shy away from traveling anywhere, talking to anyone about this country."
"You can play a great game and still not win," Obama said at the White House, shortly after returning from Copenhagen where his in-person plea did not put Chicago over the top. "Although I wish that we had come back with better news from Copenhagen, I could not be prouder."
Obama expressed no regret at putting so much on the line for the failed effort.
"I have no doubt that it was the strongest bid possible and I'm proud that I was able to come in and help make that case in person," the president said.
His chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters that Obama got the bad news aboard Air Force One as he and his wife, Michelle, flew back to Washington from the Danish capital. He was watching TV alone in his quarters on the presidential jet.
Mrs. Obama had gone to Copenhagen ahead of her husband and had lobbied hard for the Summer Games to be brought to her hometown and his adopted hometown.
Chicago's early exit from finalist balloting represented a personal setback for Obama and a painful defeat for Chicago, America's most prominent Midwestern city. The president put his personal prestige and political capital at risk when he decided late in the competition to go to Copenhagen and make a personal appeal.
"Absolutely," Gibbs replied, when asked whether Obama was glad he'd made such a large commitment to lobbying for the Games. He said the president "would never shy away from traveling anywhere, talking to anyone about this country."
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