Blame it on Rio!

President Obama made a big gamble in Copenhagen, and it didn't pay off the way he wanted.

Obama flew to Denmark for a last ditch effort to lobby for his hometown of Chicago to host the 2016 Olympic games. He was joined by his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, former Olympians and other American dignitaries seeking to bring home the gold.

The competition was stiff, and Obama was told in advance that Chicago didn't have a chance if he didn't show up. Well he did show up, and despite the critics who are ready to pounce on his "failure," he deserves credit for making the effort.

From the beginning, Rio was a hard city to beat. If I had to pick any city other than Chicago to host the Olympic games in 2016, I would pick Rio. It's my favorite city in the world to visit. It's a beautiful place with beautiful people in a beautiful climate. And it's a popular tourist destination for American citizens.

The U.S. media networks hoping to bid on a Chicago Olympic games won't be as happy to bid on the games in Rio, but it's far better than Madrid or Tokyo, if only because it's roughly in the same time zone as New York, and it's easier to get to than Japan. And did I mention it's beautiful?

Rio had another advantage going for it. The Olympic games have never been held in South America. Never. In contrast, the U.S. has hosted the Olympics 8 times, more than any other country in the world.

I was a little shocked that Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting. I expected Madrid or Tokyo to get the boot first. Madrid because Europe will already be hosting the 2012 Olympics, and Tokyo because Asia (China) hosted the 2008 Olympics.

I was wrong, but I can't say I'm entirely disappointed with the results.

Americans are kind of spoiled when it comes to the Olympics. Yes we have the infrastructure and the media capacity and, until recently, the money to put on the quadrennial games in dramatic style. But other countries (and continents) deserve a chance too.

I love Chicago (at least in the summer time), but to be honest, I think I was more disappointed for the Obamas than I was for the city of Chicago. Barack and Michelle put their reputations on the line to pitch for the Windy City, but it wasn't enough to overcome history and geography. That's the new reality to which many of us are learning to adjust.

Although some consider the U.S. to be the only "real" superpower remaining in the world, we have a different type of power today. We still have a disproporitionate influence on the world's economy, politics and media, but we can't forget that we're only five percent of the world's population.

For the time being, Americans enjoy the rare luxury of a virtually universal language and currency that allows us to travel much of the world without having to exchange our dollars or learn a new language. Most citizens of the world don't enjoy that privilege. But the new America is slowly learning to play friendly with other countries that are not as rich or mighty. That doesn't make us less powerful; it makes us stronger.

In the meantime, you might want to brush up on your Portuguese.