The waterfront concept is great but I don't think it's THE trump card Toronto needs to have in its hands also. Is a scenic waterfront concept more compelling or close to compelling as what other cities can come up with? I really don't know.
I feel Toronto needs something along the line of what olympicsfan97 said ON TOP of the technically excellent compact waterfront plan and the legacy of cleaning up the Portlands. The diversity of Toronto, a metropolis where every nationality can be found (I think I read that somewhere), home game for every nation, the living success story of the Olympic ideal that different ethnicity and race come together and building a peaceful community. Make the IOC think coming to Toronto is the same thing as padding themselves on the back... we all know how the IOC likes to do that LOL.