Has the gloss rubbed off Barack Obama?

It seems only a few months since Barack Obama could do no wrong, so I am sure that the Chicago Olympics 2016 team thought he would be an asset to their bid; maybe as big an asset as Tony Blair was to the London 2012 bid. Well it seems they were wrong as Chicago was the first city to be eliminated from the voting process.

The BBC must be in shock

"0926: Chicago entered today slight favourites to win the 2016 Games, lest we forget - although many will concede this year's race is just too close to call. As well as the Obamas' presence, the likes of basketball legend Michael Jordan, TV talk show host Proah Winfrey and secretary of state Hillary Clinton have all lent their support - and as shown by Tony Blair's influence in 2005 and Vladimir Putin's in 2007, personalities can be absolutely crucial to a bid team's success.

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BBC sports news correspondent James Munro: "The Chicago bid really came alive when the Obamas came to the fore in their presentation - it is now a question of whether their impact is big enough to sway the IOC voters to their city."

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0955: Here's how the news wires are reporting Chicago's bid - and no surprises for guessing the Obamas are big, big news. "Led by President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, Chicago made a heartfelt and, at times, very personal plea for the 2016 Olympics," reported AP. Reuters opened their review of the bid with: "Chicago played its two trump cards on Friday, US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle both making impassioned speeches." And the AFP report mused: "US President Barack Obama took a brief respite on Friday from a packed political agenda to visit Copenhagen on a mission to capture the 2016 Olympics for his cherished hometown of Chicago... he is taking somewhat of a political risk in putting his presidential prestige on the line."

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1015: So, Tokyo - whose presentation was kick-started by a 15-year-old gymnast, underlining the bid's desire to involve the children of the city should the 2016 Games be awarded them - are just wrapping up their 45-minute stand in Copenhagen, but many believe they will really have to pull something out of the fire if they are to rival the two cities considered by many to be the front-runners - Chicago and Rio de Janeiro. However, as BBC Sport's Matt Slater pointed out in his blog in August, "my guess is that we'll be left with the same equation: the IOC's heart calling for Copacabana but its head worrying about crime and passing up the riches on offer in Chicago - a confusion that might just let in Madrid or Tokyo."

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1210: By way of an indication of just how fleeting US President Obama's visit to Copenhagen was, Air Force One has just departed Denmark. A fleeting visit, yes, but also one that underlines Obama's crucial support of the Chicago bid. Will it make all the difference?

- A flight from the USA to Copenhagen to deliver a speech each and then straight back to the USA, presumably AirForce 1 produces no CO2 -

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1305: In Chicago, Amy Jacobson reporter for WLS Radio: "Optimism is growing here in Chicago especially after that wonderful and emotional closing speech by Michelle Obama. I'm down on Daley Plaza, where they are getting ready for a huge party - everyone here expects to win. They are going to broadcast the decision live in the heart of the city and we are expecting thousands of people to come down and cheer on Chicago."

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- And after the vote -

"BBC News' Adam Brookes in Chicago: "The shock of Chicago's elimination was greater for the fact that it came in the first round. And greater for the fact that President Obama had taken valuable hours from his packed and tense political schedule to travel to Copenhagen. His legendary powers of persuasion will be said to have failed him, though in reality it will be Chicago's bid that failed him. Nonetheless, this is a moment which allows the president's detractors to allege waning prestige on the part of his presidency. And it will raise questions about the political advice that he is receiving.""

It must be hard for the BBC to understand that Barack Obama may not be the world's favourite politician. I think people are realising that like Tony Blair in the UK he's spin and lies.