Chicago loses

So much for that presidential pitch:

Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are vying to be the host of the 2016 Olympic Games, after Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated by the International Olympic Committee.

Tokyo secured the fewest of the 95 votes available in the second round at the meeting in Copenhagen. Chicago was knocked out in the first round vote.

Cities will be eliminated until one secures a majority with the winner set to be announced after 1730 BST.

Chicago's early exit was a surprise, with bookmakers making them favourites.

For reasons my colleague Annie Lowrey explained, Chicago may have actually doged a bullet today. But it's still pretty embarassing for Obama, who traveled to Copenhagen to make a last minute pitch for Chicago. 

One has to imagine the White House thought that Chicago had this in the bag if President Obama was willing to take time away from debates on health care, Afghanistan, and Iran to advocate for his hometown. As John Hoberman wrote on the site this week:

If he fails, the right wing will pillory him as a dilettante who should have kept his eye on weightier affairs of state. Nor would a "loss" to the president of Brazil or the prime minister of Spain do much for Mr. Obama's international stature. All of this suggests that Obama should have left well enough alone and stayed at home.

More to come.