Beyond the protests of LGBT activists, Putin faces many formidable challenges in making the Sochi Winter Olympics a success

Leon Aron writes:

Putin’s expectations for a triumph may run into a stone wall of reality. Many are bracing for a disruption, even disaster. The Sochi games will be the first Winter Olympiad held in the subtropics and not unrelatedly, the gap between what has been needed by way of infrastructure and what was already available had never been as deep and wide. It is also beset with protest; it’s the first Olympics to be held in an area of mass expulsion of an indigenous people, whose descendants accuse Russia of genocide. Perhaps most hazardously of all, it is the first (and almost certainly the last) Olympiad to be held within a few hundred miles of a low-intensity but deadly jihad. Indeed, this is without a doubt the most precarious Olympiad ever attempted, for reasons of geography, climate and infrastructure—but also for the way the regime has chosen to address these challenges. Will Putin’s triumphalist narrative prevail? Maybe.

Obama supports the LGBT community to the max, by sending many gay people to the Sochi Winter Olympics in the U.S. delegation. The Obamas and Bidens will not attend the Games

Lots of gays in this delegation (see some of the names in blue type).  This except below from a press release from the White House:

The Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russian Federation will be held on February 7, 2014. The delegation will attend athletic events, meet with U.S. athletes, and attend the Opening Ceremony. The Honorable Janet A. Napolitano, President of the University of California, will lead the delegation. The Honorable Michael A. McFaul, United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation. The Honorable Robert L. Nabors, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. The Honorable Billie Jean King, Member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, Member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mr. Brian A. Boitano, Olympic gold medalist, figure skating.