Clinton told reporters in Singapore, where the International Olympic Committee was meeting, that the Big Apple "exemplifies Olympic values every single day. Living in New York is like living in an Olympic Village - you have every language from every corner of the globe."

While New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg headed up the U.S. delegation, and former boxing great Muhammad Ali joined in the effort, it was Clinton, whose global popularity has been heralded in the world's media, who was the clear star of the U.S. team.

In comments to The Associated Press, she noted that the Summer Games have never been held in New York.

"We have lived the Olympics, now I'd like for us to have a chance to host the Olympics," she said.

In arguments before the committee, the former first lady even invoked the specter of the 9/11 attacks:

"We're standing here a little less than four years from the time when we were attacked and we're telling you that New York City is the place to bring the 2012 Olympics because people of New York are resilient," she insisted. "They're extraordinary in their capacity to pull together and plan for the future."

Before this morning's announcement, the AP called Clinton "the top political heavyweight for New York's [Olympic] delegation."

But now that she's failed to come through, don't look for the press to spend much time dwelling on what went wrong.

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