Where was President Obama?

“This event is not about us,” said an Obama Administration official. WHAT! Who is the number one terror target in the world – America. Who will Obama we asking to represent a coalition against terror the next time terrorists attack the US – those represented in this picture, of course. What will they tell him when he cannot even attend a rally to represent the US solidarity with our allies around the world? This is another example of the President’s failed leadership in all areas (except ideology), specifically in foreign affairs.

There were two notable exceptions as world leaders gathered in Paris on Sunday in an emotional show of solidarity following the terrorist attacks in the French capital. Neither President Barack Obama nor Vice President Joe Biden attended the events, and their absence drew criticism.

The White House sent Attorney General Eric Holder to Paris, along with a top official at the Department of Homeland Security, for meetings with French officials in recent days. But the administration chose not to have the president or vice president represent the U.S. during Sunday’s events, which drew more than 40 world leaders and millions of demonstrators in the streets of Paris.

While assorted leaders were front and center during public events in Paris on Sunday, the Justice Department said Mr. Holder attended a ministerial summit on counterterrorism and a second meeting with world leaders hosted by French President François Hollande.

But no U.S. official was a fixture in the day’s memorable moment featuring Israeli, Palestinian, French and German leaders linking arms as they marched in defiance of the terrorism threat. The highest-ranking American official at the march was the ambassador to France.

“What’s missing in this picture? American leaders,” Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on Middle East policy, wrote on Twitter in a post accompanied by a photo of the leaders. “Even Palestinian and Israeli leaders in front line of Paris march.”

Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official now at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, tweeted: “Not an excuse in universe can explain why US failed to send to Paris a more visible rep. than Holder.”

A senior administration official noted the presence of Mr. Holder and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The official also pointed to several public statements from Mr. Obama and extensive collaboration behind the scenes between the French and U.S. governments.

As recently as Friday, Mr. Obama said France is America’s oldest ally and pledged to offer any needed assistance. He also spoke on the phone with Mr. Hollande and visited the French Embassy in Washington last week. Victoria Nuland, an assistant secretary of State, attended a march in Washington.

Neither Messrs. Obama nor Biden had public events scheduled on Sunday. Mr. Obama was at the White House, while Mr. Biden was at his home in Delaware, according to his public schedule.

As has been the case in past events that Mr. Obama has declined to attend, such as in Ferguson, Mo. amid outcry over the shooting of an unarmed young black man, the administration official noted the presence of the president or vice president can be distracting, given their security requirements. That would have been the case in a city swamped with marchers just days after a terrorist attack.

“This event is not about us,” the official said.

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