An age-old public relations axiom holds that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

It's doubtful that US President Barack Obama agreed after Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose made headlines by skipping the Bulls' recent trip to the White House.

Rose's snub damaged a two-pronged image Obama has spent considerable time and effort creating. The first part revolves around Obama's role as an avid athlete. In 2009, he agreed to serve as the subject of a Sports Illustrated feature that focused on his passion for basketball.

This story might have been more effective if it hadn't included photos of Obama playing pickup games in sweatpants - an odd look that flew in the face of the hip image he was trying to portray.

Also, several of the Sports Illustrated pickup game photos were taken at the University of North Carolina - a school that has recently been accused of long-term, widespread academic fraud. Probably not a good affiliation for a US president.

The second prong of Obama's PR strategy frames him as a lifelong Chicagoan. The truth is that Obama didn't move to Chicago until after his college graduation; it is his wife Michelle's ­hometown whose popularity he is trying to ­capitalize on.

This strategy has been largely unsuccessful. The Obamas' formal support of Chicago's 2016 Summer Olympic Games bid contributed so little that the city failed to advance past the first round of the bidding process.

And a 2011 visit to the White House by the 1985-86 Chicago Bears, a team that has achieved legendary status in the Windy City, took place without Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton, who told ESPN that he was "not a fan of the guy in the White House."

It's not unheard of for politics and sports to mix. But before his term expires in 2016, President Obama might want to focus more on the first and less on the second.

The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer robvogtwriting@gmail.com