VIDEO: Obama pitches for Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid

President Obama taped a video talking up his native Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics, calling Chicago “one of the great cities of the world.”

“While I regret I could not join you in person today, I want to thank you for your efforts on behalf of the Olympic movement for your visit to the city we love and the opportunity to address you today — not just as President of the United States, but as a proud Chicagoan,” Obama said in a taped video message to Olympic organizers touring the Windy City.

“Chicago is that most American of American cities — a city that reflects the decency, honestly, and generosity of our people,” Obama said in his words of support for the bid. “This is a city that lives and breathes the ideals of perseverance.”

Obama encouraged organizers to get to know Chicago, and praised Mayor Richard M. Daley’s leadership in the city as mayor.

“Under his leadership, Chicago is in the 21st century what it was in the 20th century and the 19th century: not just a great American city, but one of the great cities of the world,” Obama said.

Watch the video of Obama’s pitch here.