Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
Right now, Pres. Obama is on his way to Copenhagen to try to persuade Olympic officials to award Chicago the 2016 Summer Games. First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey are already there making their "sales pitch." But not everyone is happy with the White House efforts.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said at this time of war and a recession Mr. Obama's trip isn't needed.
"I think the First Lady would have been and should have been the lead here," Steele said to reporters today. "Let her go and sell Chicago," he added.
In the Daily Beast, former McCain and Palin Adviser Nicolle Wallace is also slamming the President. "In ordinary times, it would be charming for a president to tag along on the Michelle and Oprah tour, but these are not ordinary times," Wallace writers.
What do you think? Should Pres. Obama be making the face-to-face pitch to Olympic officials?
Also tonight, we continue to demand answers from Chicago. You likely saw the video of honors student beaten to death on the south side, while dozens watched and did nothing. Now, no one is helping police bring the killers to justice. Joe Johns is in Chicago tonight and keeping them honest. We'll also talk about this stop snitchin' way of life with rapper Common and CNN Education analyst Steve Perry.
Plus, a confession in the Roman Polanski saga. A retired prosecutor admits he lied in an HBO documentary about Polanski's rape case. That's tonight's crime and punishment report.
We're also bringing you the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009. Don't miss their remarkable stories and find out how you can vote for your top pick.
Join us for these stories and much more starting at 10pm ET.
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It's truely amazing what's goin on in the young community I remember as a kid there were no lashing out or attemps of assault because the parents weren't punks. Diphis and other originations have taking the parenting out of parenting granet kids are gonna be kids but and some people are abusive but if u are ova 30 years old today don't I have a respect for older people? Kids having kids is one of the issues here it's hard for a adolecent to listen to the parent that is old enough to be a brother sister or cousin cmon are we serious? Like common said it start with love... I don't know where that idea got lost in the mix but I know we have to get it back for our children!
I believe one of the best speeches he has ever given since addressing the nation after his inauguration. This time he has shown everyone in the world and the united states of america he is a true Illinois man. If I was the president of the United States of America and I could help my state create new jobs and bring tourism to my home city i diffinetly would have. His heart is in chicago and I am proud to say he did the right thing. Hopefully it brings the city of chicago plenty of revenue and create many more infrastructure jobs.
Riaz Khan
Toronto, Canada
This guy is a joke....be assured, there is a method to this madness....all is contrived....we are all so gullible...truth will come out, and we will all be grieved.
May God bless America.
I'm happy Obama is pressing for Chicago's Olympic bid, but based on today's economic numbers, the Stimulus Package has done virtually nothing to add jobs or begin the recovery we were promised. Only 11% of the $787 billion has been spent so far, and Obama is taking credit for illusionary gains. Why is there no coverage of this?
It's not like he went skiing or anything. He was on the ground for a full 3 hours and doing the business of the nation in Copenhagen and on Air Force One the entire time. Bringing the Olympics to the United States would not only be a huge economic boost to Chicago, but it would also portray the U.S. in very positive light on an international stage. It's just good PR, and we could use some of that right now. P.S. Both Tony Blair and Nicholas Sarkozy made similar bids with positive results.
He is allowed to have a weekend getaway with his wife that can also bring billions of dollars to our failed economy.
OBAMA is doing his job, that is our future olympics.
If any city needs 20 billion dollards in revenue , it would be Chicago.
The City could really use the money.
If Obama didn't go put our bid in the republicans would be saying he should have gone.
Please give this man a break!!!!! There are people out there who find fault with everything our president is doing!!! But little by little progress is being made on his watch. And in time all his critics will have egg on their faces. President Obama is analytical and deliberate and very bright. Do you recall when McCain felt that the then candidate Obama would have difficulty mixing in with foreign leaders– and he was proven wrong? Well, the president is doing even better now.
Americans aren't you and the GOP are tired of trashing the oval office.
Leave the man alone and become active in something. Turtor a kid. And you call other country leaders crazy and wonder why we have killing, flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and firers in America. Please respect our President and stop the crap. GOP needs to go to work as taxpayers are paying them for fixing the country and not trashing everyone and everything the President does. We live and learn. I will never vote for a GOP because they have so much hate and Michael Steele is not a leader as the saying goes, no way, no how, no leader. My five year old grandson acts with better manners than he does and some of the GOP leaders. GOP you have really, really surprised me and I am sure many others. As Arethea Franklin song says, Respect!
this president is clearly out of touch with the people who hired him to do his job.....maybe staying home and writing a health care plan that is acceptable to the american people might be nice...instead he has nancy p do it.....this woman is one of the biggest nut cases in america
I am so proud of this president and his capabilities. President Bush couldn't pull if off, but President Obama can! Sorry, life in this United States is not just about today and the war it is about tomorrow too and this event can do a lot for not only our economy but our reputation in the world which was shattered by the previous President. Good for him.
Give the President a break! He is focusing on job creation and money that will be brought to America due to the Olympics. Although the health reform is important, the financial crisis that our country is currently facing out weighs it in this case.
The President has the right to travel where he wants, I cannot Believe people make a big deal out of it . It will be Great if the United States can Host Olympics , also we have freedom to go where we want when we want to this is why we are the United States Of America
So whoever started this big story needs to focus on themselves.
PS. This goes for any President Democrat or Republican
I did not vote for Obama but his attendance makes sense. Dems bashed Bush for his vacations and forgot, just like Obama, the president can work anywhere. Get off his back, he is working hard.
A sitting President should not be trying to coax anyone to have the Olympics in Chicago or anywhere else in the US. I don't know if money drives the decision or if they actually use sound reasoning to make the selection. Either way our President and his wife should stay out of it. Oprah ok, I can buy her being there. Is he going to bat for St. Louis if they get a shot. I doubt it. I think him going there will lessen the chances of Chicago being picked rather than the other way around.
Doesn't he have important matters to attend to?
Michelle could have handled the trip on her own. There are lots of other things that Obama could have and should have focused on that will benefit all the country and not just Chicago.
I support this President in all he's done, except going to Copenhagen to lobby for the Olympics in Chicago. Especially, when during this critical period of getting health reform passed. He could easily have sent Hillary, or Joe Biden for this purpose. Short of that, I support the legislation fully. I'm disappointed that the democrats are not unanimous in their support of the bill. E. Lewis.
Pitching for Olympics to come to Chicago is like begging elete guest to come to your dysfunctional home full of chaos. President's all expense US people's money trip should have been to Afghanistan.
Anderson,
These kids are acting out because they have no belief in themselves or their own future. Education is the key. Get kids to believe in themselves because they do well in school, and they will have hope in the future, and the confidence to know they can compete with the more fortunate in our society. As far as the thugs go, the answer is simple. Offer a reward on an anonymous tip, no questions asked. In this economic climate, surely someone will want to claim the reward. Elvin T. Lewis, Jr.
President Obama doesn't have the wrong focus, he has too many focuses. This is due his attempt to please everyone both domestic and internationally.
Multi tasking on go kinda President ! Great job !
Landing the Olympics in Chicago is the President's business as hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars will go to Chicago where unemployment is in double figures. The GOP is looking for anything to blast our President...there's an election coming up! I, along with millions of others, are getting weary of their attitudes.
Give him some slack he has been working his butt off.
24 hr trip for the Olympics will kill no one. Where was all of this concern when Bush spent 4 days slapping olympians on the butt, or when he spent most of his presidency clearing brush. You white pple will have to come up w/ a whole hell of a lot more than that to make me back-bite the person that is trying to fix your white-washed mess. maybe find a picture of him killing a couple of newborn babies then I might consider, maybe.
Shouldn't the story be .. "Republicans focused on destroying the Obama Presidency at all costs."
Let's see. Obama leaves DC after 5PM on Thursday and will be in Denmark on Fraday and will be back at his desk Monday morning. Steele and the rest of the complainers are making much ado about nothing. Do they really think that there is no time being spent on other matters during the trip?
Oh Please!!! Great publicity. Lots and lots of jobs. Millions of dollars. Not to mention that Air Force One has stuff. President is always in contact unless of course he is chopping brush for 1/3 of his presidency.
Since Airforce One is just like Working in the oval office ... Yes, he should have gone. He can do his job anywhere.