Michelle Obama to Carry the Torch: Chicago Sun Times
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 3:25PM
First lady and Windy City native Michelle Obama will lead a delegation to Denmark next month in a final push for Chicago's Olympic bid. But her husband, immersed in the battle for health care reform, remains noncommittal on making the trip.
"It is with great pride that I will go to Copenhagen to make the case for the United States to host the 2016 Olympics," Michelle Obama said in a statement Friday. "There is no doubt in my mind that Chicago would offer the world a fantastic setting for these historic games, and I hope that the Olympic torch will have the chance to burn brightly in my hometown."
Chicago is among four finalists for the 2016 Summer Games. When the International Olympic Committee gathers Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, heads of state are expected to show up and lobby for their respective cities, including Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. But the chatter about whether President Obama will attend is heating up just weeks before the IOC votes on the measure.
On Friday, Obama called Mayor Daley to let him know that Michelle Obama would be making the trip. And in a statement Friday, the Chicago 2016 bid team said Obama also reached out to IOC President Jacques Rogge to voice his support for Chicago's bid but also to let him know the health care issue "keeps him from committing at this time to travel to Copenhagen." more


















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