To hear Obama insiders discuss it, the president was just too competitive not to make the trip. “Whether we tried or not, we owned it,” said one senior White House aide. “But you know how competitive he is. If we got a shot, he wanted to take it. The Chicago folks definitely made it known that they wanted him to come. But the decision was his. He felt if he could go and make the case and promote the country and Chicago, he was going to do it.”…

Within a week, that position was beginning to change as Mayor Daley pressed his case for a presidential pitch, which would put the country’s leader alongside his global counterparts. But according to White House officials, there were two factors even more important than the influence of Daley: the White House was already engaged, and the president himself liked the sporting challenge.