Mr. Obama Goes to Copenhagen

A couple of weeks ago Pres. Obama took one day and a lot of my money to go to Copenhagen, Denmark to lobby for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympic Games. To say he was unsuccessful would be an understatement-Chicago was handily defeated in the first round of voting.

Personally, I really don't have a problem that Obama went to Copenhagen. While no president has ever made a pitch for the Olympics to come to his hometown before, heads of state do lobby the International Olympic Committee. And since the president hails from Chicago, it makes some sense that he would make a personal appearance.

But I do think this trip says a few very important things about Pres. Obama. First of all, Gen. Stanley McChrystal admitted in an interview (http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/back-story/2009/sep/28/us-commander-of-afghanistan-only-talked-to-obama-o/) that Obama has only talked with him once. It seems very strange that the president who can't find time to talk to his commanding general in Afghanistan could easily find time to go to Copenhagen and talk to the IOC-although he did squeeze in a summit with the general while in Denmark (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6858796.ece). How big of him.

Obama going to Copenhagen for a day makes almost no difference in what happens at home. But it does not look good. The people are worried about healthcare and the economy, Gen. McChrystal wants more troops, and their president jets off to Denmark to make a pitch for Chicago to host the Olympics. It makes Obama look unconcerned with the situation at home.

In addition, Obama's trip to Copenhagen did not help his standing in the world. He's supposed to be the president that will lift America up in the international community, but they didn't seem too interested in listening to him here. If he could not even make a successful pitch for the Olympics-and really, the pitch wasn't that great-how is he going to negotiate with people who want to kill us?

However, one could argue this was a smart move on Obama's part. Traditionally, when things are bad at home the president gets out of the Oval Office and becomes more active. It is considerably harder to hit a moving target than a still one. If Obama is doing more things and going more places, the press has a harder time pinning anything on him. It doesn't solve any problems but it sure does make Obama's life easier.

The trip to Copenhagen may have made Obama look disinterested or unconcerned with domestic affairs, but it actually served the purpose of making him harder to hit. This is very telling of how Obama thinks things are going at home.