It's not especially surprising that Chicago won't be named the host city of the 2016 Olympics. We predicted earlier today on Fourth-Place Medal that Rio would get the nod. However, it is a shock that the Second City was eliminated in the first round of voting, a sharp slap in the face to the United States and, in particular, President Barack Obama, who had travelled to Copenhagen to stump for his adopted city's candidacy.

Oddsmakers had favored the city since the four bid cities were announced in June 2008 and the announcement that Obama would appear at the IOC vote was thought by many to put Chicago over the top. It was all for naught. Chicago was eliminated on the first ballot, while Madrid and Rio de Janeiro advanced to the final round of voting.

The perception will be that Barack Obama's attempt to play the role of conquering hero was a failure and, to some degree, it was. He didn't accomplish what he set out to do. But the frenzy of his arrival in Copenhagen always obscured the fact that the IOC has constantly shown an anti-American tilt. Obama's fame wasn't enough to overcome that. The president's supposed popularity with the general European public means nothing. He needed to sway the 99 first round voters. They proved to be a hard sell.

For a number of reasons, most having to do with the root of all evil (money), the IOC has held a grudge against America for the better part of the last decade. Because of this, today's vote wasn't a vote against Obama or against Chicago's worthiness to hold the Olympics. It was a vote against the United States.