Rio Fallout -- Let's Think North American

I have never thought of myself as a person who obsesses about the Olympics, but Rio's win today was thrilling. It was interesting to see the four films on the bid cities -- Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Chicago's promo film failed to send a strong message about a forward thinking environment. Tokyo's was sort of predictable, but more majestic. Madrid was trying too hard. And then there was Rio. All the IOC had to do was take a look at five seconds of this film and say, "Okay, that's it. We're going to hit this place in 2016. That's where the beauty and the passion lie." Clearly, what happens in Rio won't stay in Rio -- the party will be a grand international affair.

Now, as happy as I am for Rio -- and I am! -- I see us all drifting while the newer world gathers momentum. Aside from gorgeous beaches and mountains, Rio has shown us how wonderful it is to be shiny and new. Brazil has been amazingly successful over the past number of years, even swallowing iconic Inco for a cool $17 billion three years ago.

It is time to reinvent ourselves. How about starting to call all of us -- Mexican, American and Canadian -- North American? How about rethinking and repositioning the brand? I think North American could far outsell American at the moment. North America speaks of unity and diversity and newness. If we are going to proceed and outsell, we are going to have to be the go-to people for ideas. We will require some grandeur and some greatness, nothing tired or broken.

America has too many skeletons -- both old (slavery) and new (Iraq) -- in its closet. Canada is too small to make the difference it should be making, because Canada is a truly extraordinary nation. Mexico would add history and culture, and Mexico could really use the re branding as well. If we could ever sort out the cross border trade squabbles (Buy America) and the passport issues and the clogged borders, we could have enormous advantages having an EU type entity called North America. Republicans like Senator Corker who alledge that Canada has a parasitic relationship with America will need to be convinced, as will TV anchor Lou Dobbs.

Chicago's loss and Rio's win together point to a need for a fresh new entity -- North America just might help.