Well, looking at what he has done since January, I would say the saying:"Er kocht auch nur mit Wasser", would apply to him. :-)

"I just think, wouldn't it be great if that kind of spirit was happening right down the street in our community? Just think of that. Kids and communities across the city, in Austin, kids who grew up in Cabrini, kids who live so far from the city. Now just imagine if all of that was happening right in their own backyard. That's what I think about."

"It does something to a kid when they can feel that energy and power up close and personal. And for some kids in our communities and our city, around the nation, around the world, they can never dream of being that close to such power and opportunity. So that's what excites me most about bringing the Games to Chicago."

Mr Thayer sez:

Facing sullen opposition to the games - highlighted when many school principals revolted against a school board edict to have the schools fly flags supporting the bid - Mayor Daley pledged that the Games would not cost the taxpayers a dime.  The reality is that if Chicago gets these games, and even if there is no massive fraud and sweetheart contracts (a truly ridiculous "if" in this city and state!), City taxpayers will pay for them - the 84 per cent opposed to such funding be damned.

First to be tapped will be the hidden sources - the TIFF funds which have siphoned off property tax revenue for years.  Originally set up supposedly to help impoverished areas of the City be redeveloped, for years the TIFF districts have deprived the city's schools, libraries and other social services of money by putting huge amounts of city revenue into slush funds which the mayor and his allies have in turn doled out to large private businesses owned and controlled by mayoral allies - Boeing, United Airlines and Borders Bookstore, to name a few....

A crucial factor ignored by most of the popular press accounts of the Chicago bid is that its wildly optimistic financial projections were written up before the depths of the current recession became apparent.  So the Chicago boosters are projecting record ticket revenue from the Games - surpassing all previous ones.  They are projecting record donations by charitable organizations.  Record corporate donations for naming rights.  Seamless sale of the Olympic village facility by the private market following the Games, and no problem raising private capital for the construction.

Ms Jarrett sez:

Jarrett said an apt comparison to Chicago's IOC campaign would be the Iowa caucus. Obama's 2008 Iowa caucus win paved the way for his election as president. The Iowa caucus required intense, personal campaigning--much like the final sprint to lobby the IOC members.

Said Jarrett, "The Iowa caucus, where you can have more than one round and every single vote counts and it is very retail and you have to earn the trust and confidence of every single person you can and that's where our effort will be....it is very germane in the home stretch."

And "she never met with HUD officials about Olympic housing issues" such as public-private partnership redevlopment financing, or HOPE IV dregs. So there. More important:

[T]his new ambassadorial mission suggests the Obama White House is happy to milk the global community's overwhelming sense of goodwill toward Michelle. During her summer trip to France, Germany, England and Ghana, the focus was on fashion.