Blair wins Olympics 2012 for London, Bush loses it for NYC

Whatever possessed Dan Doctorow to continue with his campaign for NYC as the host city for the 2012 Olympics after Bush turned us into the dog of the world after 9/11 -- instead of the prince we should've been? After 9/11, New York was a shoo-in for Olympic host city, but then Bush started his war.
As expected, Moscow fell out in the first round of voting after the final presentations from competing cities Paris, London, New York, Madrid and Moscow. But did Madrid fall out in the next voting round, as was expected after its piss-poor presentation?
No. New York fell out, despite the rock-star presence of Hillary Clinton and Muhammed Ali at NYC's presentation. Don't expect a bunch of Europeans to vote for anything American, even if it's NYC. We get tarred with the Bush brush, no matter if we can't stand him either.
As it is, Blair robbed Paris of its third recent attempt to get this boon for city development. The betting favored Paris over London. But Blair helped make the best case, not least because he's taken on the role of leader of the world's agenda with his effort to make poverty history in Africa.
At the G8 meeting, Blair will be lording it over everyone, especially Chirac, now that he's snatched the Olympic plum from Chirac's pompous Gallic dentures. It also happens to be Blair's turn as leader of Europe.
Blair used to be derided as Bush's lapdog. But in world affairs, it's Blair who's now graduated to top dog status. Put Blair and Bush together at a press conference, and Blair comes across as the articulate world advocate, while Bush looks like the class clown who fell off the Airforce One Texas Turnip Wagon.