And the Gold Medal Goes To ....

Slate reminds us that the quid pro quo inherent in politics suggests that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley may reap quite a few benefits of watching Obama's back while said Obama was out politicking. Could Obama Derangement Syndrome strike Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee, and reward Mayor Daley with an Olympic-sized plum?

The biggest boon may be to the city's bid for the 2016 Olympics, which the IOC is scheduled to award in October 2009. Chicago is one of four cities competing for the games that year, and it's fair to say that Obama has the other would-be hosts—Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro—in a panic. "I have a sense of crisis," one Japanese committeeman told the AP.

-- Chicago Hope, Slate, November 10, 2008

Panic. Crisis. Next thing, society will break down into sheer pandemonium. Oops, that appears to have already happened in some quarters.