Of course, yesterday we discovered that the President has moved to the G8 summits to Camp David. For some this was yet another blow to the City's civic pride (loosing the Olympics... and Oprah over the last couple of years). In reality it's most likely for the best. The primary motivation for bringing the G8 to Chicago was global exposure - to show the world that NYC & D.C. aren't the only game in town. This was also a huge risk. Some have suggested that Chicago is still worried about a repeat of '68 - the infamous Democratic National convention that erupted into police brutality against anti-war demonstrators. They call it the "Ghost of '68."
Again I'm on the fence about this. Chicago, because it is not a media capital (like NYC/LA... or even ATL), feels that it has to promote itself to the global audience. The G8 Summit sounds like a good idea from an international perspective. From a domestic perspective it's a little different. If Chicago would have hosted the G8, in an election year, with a still (relatively) stagnant economy, increasing gas prices and the resurgence of the Occupy movement (with which I empathize), not to mention the conservative populists (with which I empathize but emphatically disagree) - the City would have certainly faced the possibility of social unrest and police backlash that would have damaged the its reputation among the global elite, the middle class and the poor. If everything would have gone perfectly well Chicago might have convinced a few billionaires or politicians to invest in the City. If there was violence the elite and the average American would have soured on the City once again. In other words, it was a risky bet - one that we're probably better of not making. Which, again, brings us back to the question that confronts Chicago today - how much should we cater to the elite or to the global media while at the same time facilitating the voices of the oppressed, the impoverished and the forgotten.
Chicago has always been at the epicenter of American politics and social change. It has always placated the business establishment while simultaneously providing refuge, if reluctantly, to everyone that "polite society" chooses to ignore. Today is no exception.
Rahm Emanuel and Bill Clinton Announce the creation of Chicago's "Infrastructure Trust," America's First - Controversial and potentially Revolutionary
How to make Rahm's Plan Work
Tech Companies partner with Chicago High Schools
A Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs - Innovative for its sincerity
I overheard POTUS's press conference yesterday where he stated that it was more of an international political calculation - that is, that someone brought to his attention that he, unlike his predecessors, hadn't invited the G8 leaders to Camp David in already year 3 of his presidency. I think President Obama is sincere in this calculation and he probably will use it to his home court advantage. Camp David, at this point, is even more so than that of Chicago. The looming threat of Iran and the constant undertones of the European economy make international consensus a necessity and the more intimate setting of Camp David will hopefully prove to be extremely advantageous of the President Obama and the US.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that there will be plenty of protests and opportunities for Chicago to look both good and bad during the NATO summit, held just after the G8 including the same leaders, and I don't think there was as much of a domestic political decision to move the G8 as you and others have surmised. Regardless, there are going to be protests, and the right will paint it as "typical Chicago politics" while the left will hopefully respond in a positive, proactive way. Make no mistake, Mayor Emanuel knows the stakes, and knows how President Obama will be portrayed if things go wrong in Obama's home city. We can only hope, and I do believe, that things will go just fine.
Keep up the great posts.
Brucetown