Why not let her handle this Chicago Olympics thing?
Like you, the First Lady is smart, charismatic and tough. If there's any shrinking violet part of her, we have yet to see it—except for maybe when she lets you be taller than she is. Unlike you, she won't be blamed into perpetuity for the fate of our nation.
The Olympics are neat and all but we, the people of America, who are somewhere between concerned and out-of-our-gourd insane regarding various issues, would appreciate your focus. As Jason Zengerle points out in the New Republic
the fate of comprehensive health care reform is hanging by a thread up on Capitol Hill and the Pentagon is awaiting the commander-in-chief's word on the way forward in Afghanistan, and Obama's going to take time out of his busy schedule to schmooze with the Princess of Liechtinstein and the 105 other worthies on the I.O.C.'s selection committee?
If he goes to Copenhagen and the I.O.C. picks Rio, he suffers a completely unnecessary defeat on the world stage; it's one thing to stake your prestige on a global climate change treaty or tougher sanctions on Iran and fail, but to do it for a sporting event just seems ludicrous. And what happens if Obama does succeed and manages to bring the games to Chicago? Well, to quote one-time U.S. men's basketball national team member Derrick Coleman, "Whoop-dee-damn-do."
Mr. President, your wife is Michelle Obama. She doesn't need your help, especially when you have more presidential matters to deal with. If she can tackle truly important stuff like the nutrition of our children, we're more than confident that she can handle the pseudo-importance of your adopted hometown hosting an Olympic Games. And she has Oprah.
—JONATHAN PITTS-WILEY
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