Obama Absence Will Be “Noticed”

IOC member Dick Pound from Canada is in Chicago tonight and says President Obama’s absence will be “noticed” when the IOC votes for the host city in Copenhagen on October 2.  The president announced last week that his schedule may not allow him to travel to Denmark to lobby for Chicago 2016.  Given the closeness of the competition between the candidate cities (including Chicago, Rio, Madrid and Tokyo), Pound suggested that Mr. Obama’s appearance might sway IOC members who are looking for a reason to vote for one city over another.