The White House has announced that the President will travel to Copenhagen on Thursday in an effort to save Chicago's sagging bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. It is a misuse of the President's time and reflects misplaced priorities.

From the Washington Post:

President Barack Obama, who initially planned to let First Lady Michelle Obama represent the United States in Copenhagen this week, when the International Olympic Committee chooses a site for the 2016 summer games, plans to travel there too. The first couple will appear together at the venue-choosing summit, where Chicago will compete with three other cities for the '16 games.

The White House, which earlier had announced that an advance team was headed to Copenhagen to prepare for a possible presidential trip to Copenhagen, confirmed this morning that Obama will travel Thursday night. The IOC meets Friday.

A senior administration official told the Tribune Washington Bureau this morning that Obama will travel to Copenhagen Thursday night, and return following the Friday meeting. The first lady plans to travel Tuesday, and meet with individual members of the IOC on Wednesday and Thursday to make Chicago's case for the games. The president will join her at the full committee meeting on Friday.

"President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will both make presentations to the IOC during Friday's session,'' the White House press secretary said later this morning, in formally announcing the trip. "They will discuss why Chicago is best to host the 2016 Summer Games, and how the United States is eager to bring the world together to celebrate the ideals of the Olympic movement.''

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs voiced confidence in Chicago's bid for the games this afternoon.

"Obviously the president has mentioned this at meetings when we were at the U.N. and G-20,'' Gibbs said, asked about Obama's own "behind the scenes'' lobbying for the games. "He's going to continue to talk to people, in an effort to bring the 2016 games...

"Having spent some time in Chicago, it is a perfect place to hold the Olympics,'' Gibbs said. "It offers a great place for the world to see... I think, far and away, it's the strongest bid of the four.''

Chicago is competing with Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Both Madrid and Tokyo have agreed to support Rio de Janeiro's bid once those cities are eliminated from the voting. South America is fairly adamant about this. They want the Olympics Games in Brazil because South America has never hosted the Games and Latin America has hosted the Games only once in 1968. Since then the United States has hosted the Games twice, most recently in Atlanta in 1996. While the United States has hosted the Games four times, no other country has ever hosted the Games more than twice so far though London will host the Games for the third time in 2012.

Brazil views these Games as their coming of age and Rio is hoping to use these Games as Barcelona did in 1992 to remake its urban core. But beyond all this with Afghanistan, the ongoing healthcare debate and an unemployment rate set to hit 9.8 percent on Friday, a Presidential trip to Copenhagen in a last-minute attempt to save Chicago's bid is a waste of the President's time. I'd rather he go to Detroit and work with Mayor Bing on saving Detroit.

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