Opinion: Obi-Wan Obama defends White House, sells Chicago Olympics

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You probably haven’t even bought your 2009 Thanksgiving turkey yet.

But the time is almost here to select the 2016 Olympics site -- hot, stuffy Madrid; distant, hard-to-spell Rio de Janeiro; crowded Tokyo with earthquakes; or the beautiful, windy city on gorgeous Lake Michigan named Chicago.

You’ll never guess which city President Obama favors for the games of the last summer of his second term, if he wins it.

Obama said he’s too busy selling healthcare reform right now. So for the Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen, Obama is sending his wife, Michelle, to help Mayor Richard M. Daley lobby for the Illinois city with the Indian name for a smelly wild onion.

The first couple held a promotional event on the White House South Lawn today where the president defended the residence against no one in particular (see photo above).

‘Americans, like Chicagoans -- we don’t like to make small plans,’ Obama said. ‘We want to dream big and reach high. We hope deeply. We want these Games. And if you choose Chicago, I promise you this: Chicago will make America proud, and America will make the world proud.’-- Andrew Malcolm

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