No way could Chicago top the engineering achievement that was showcased in Paris by the unveiling of Gustav Eiffel's thousand-foot tower even though as Larson writes on page 16, the "Chicago spirit" had rebuilt much of the city following the Great Fire of 1871. And Larson notes that even though Chicago had become a leader in commerce, manufacturing, and architecture it had not been able to shake the "widespread perception" that it was a "secondary city that preferred butchered hogs to Beethoven" (Larson, p
Obama was linked on numerous occasions with Bill Ayers, as the Republican campaign sensed it was behind the Democratic campaign and began to attack with a blistering venom equal to the "buzzards, vultures, and other unclean beasts" the Tribune used in attacking New York City's bid for the rights to put on the Fair. Our opponent, Palin said, "is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country" (Kuhnhenn, 2008)
Was Chicago termed a "windy city" not because of its climate but because of hot air from "local braggadocio"? Writer David Traxel of the New York Times believes that was the reason for the "windy city" phrase. Did Chicago really need to pull out all the stops (even beyond the proverbial rabbit out of a hat) in terms of its ability to put on a great show for the world? This question is particularly germane following the stunning success of the Paris Exposition four years earlier during which "a glamorous display of cultural sophistication and engineering expertise" helped to establish the model for future nations to follow (Traxel, 2003)