Top U.S. Officials No-Shows At Paris Unity Rally

[Webster]

...on a day when, according to reports, even the Palestinian leadership marched alongside other world leaders, U.S. leaders were no-shows...

Excerpt...

The city of light became a beacon of leadership Sunday when more than 40 heads of state came together to denounce terrorism, with one glaring exception: the lack of a high-ranking U.S. official.

French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and dozens of other world leaders — including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — all took part in the powerful denunciation of last week’s terror attacks that left 17 innocents dead. But the nation that stands as the symbolic face of the war on terror was nowhere in sight.

Neither President Obama nor Vice President Biden showed up — and in fact, America’s only representative was its relatively unknown and low-profile ambassador to France. Obama and Biden had empty public schedules Sunday, but the White House declined to comment on why they didn’t go.

The natural choice — Secretary of State Kerry, a Francophile who speaks the language — was in India for a longstanding engagement with the prime minister, White House officials said.

Attorney General Eric Holder did go to Paris — but only for an anti-terrorism summit convened by Hollande ahead of the unity rally.

Holder left Hollande and the others sometime after the group exited the Elysee Palace. Around the time other world leaders and dignitaries boarded buses to get to the front of the march, Holder was taping an interview for “Meet the Press,” NBC confirmed.

The White House said the attorney general was returning to the U.S. on Sunday night, The New York Times reported. That left ambassador Jane Hartley, head of a political consulting firm and former Obama campaign bundler who amassed more than $500,000, to carry the torch.

“If the highest-ranking official is an ambassador, I would say that’s a serious mistake,” said Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.), noting that America has asked other countries for troops in Afghanistan and Syria. “We are looking for cooperation from around the world . . . we should have had someone there who is instantly recognizable (so people) see . . . the face and say that’s the United States of America,’ ” he said.

Obama has made several public statements of support for Hollande, and U.S. security agencies are in near-constant communication with France, a senior Obama official said. The official also suggested that security for Obama and Biden might have been too distracting — but that didn’t seem to be the case for other world leaders, including Israel’s Netanyahu, who after the march went to a synagogue with Hollande and gave a speech.

“Today I walked the streets of Paris with the leaders of the world, to say enough terrorism, the time has come to fight terrorism,” Netanyahu said. He added that Israel would give sanctuary to Jews fleeing France after Friday’s deadly anti-Semitic attack on a deli.

Sunday’s rally brought out the biggest crowd in Paris’ history — even bigger than Liberation Day in World War II, local police said.

Hundreds of thousands held up “Je Suis Charlie” signs or carried candles and flowers. The victims’ families wept as they walked along Voltaire Blvd., named for the Enlightenment figure who helped defined free speech.

One protester waved a banner with Voltaire’s most famous line: “I do not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death to defend your right to say it.”

The official head count was 1.3 to 1.6 million — but French media estimated nearly 3 million. (NY Daily News)

Thoughts?

 

[+paradox]

thoughts?

so people will criticize america and/or obama because of this?

and, of course this will be fox news and the republicans field day...
let the hate begin?

 

[Webster]

thoughts?

so people will criticize america and/or obama because of this?

and, of course this will be fox news and the republicans field day...
let the hate begin?

...its' the symbolism, Justice; imagine what the media would've said had Obama & Co. been there...of course, that would also mean they'd have to acknowledge the reality of radical Islam as a source for terrorist activity, so of course they never showed up....

 

[+paradox]

thoughts?

so people will criticize america and/or obama because of this?

and, of course this will be fox news and the republicans field day...
let the hate begin?

...its' the symbolism, Justice; imagine what the media would've said had Obama & Co. been there...of course, that would also mean they'd have to acknowledge the reality of radical Islam as a source for terrorist activity, so of course they never showed up....

i also think it's some brainwashing and propaganda too...

the public and the nobodies like me and everyone that's not important, wealthy and/or powerful never gets to here or find out the truth on things unless someone messes up and/or it gets leaked some how and perhaps conspirators finds out the truth about something... you knows what's really going on in this world other than the liar that are our media is feeding us? and it's a proven fact that the government makes the media to say and/or do whatever they ask/tell them to do and say... and everyone knows that the government lies... shoot, the government lies even when they don't have to or need to...

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

What it shows is our dear leader does not take this threat seriously. And seems to be always worried about offending the terrorists instead of standing up against the evil that has run rampant in Islam. He did not even send one of his lackeys. Plus there were rallys in Washington and he could have done something with that one. He does not and never has taken the war on terror seriously and personally think in some ways has sympathy for them.

 

[beowulf]

dosnt look good on the world stage...........america is always wanting the rest of us to join them when ever they are invading......reducing the terrorism threat in foriegn countries so it seems only far they join in and show at least a bit of soidarity

 

[Webster]

What it shows is our dear leader does not take this threat seriously. And seems to be always worried about offending the terrorists instead of standing up against the evil that has run rampant in Islam. He did not even send one of his lackeys. Plus there were rallys in Washington and he could have done something with that one. He does not and never has taken the war on terror seriously and personally think in some ways has sympathy for them.

dosnt look good on the world stage...........america is always wanting the rest of us to join them when ever they are invading......reducing the terrorism threat in foriegn countries so it seems only far they join in and show at least a bit of soidarity

....and now we know what the President was doing as the rest of the world marched in Paris....he was watching football:
Excerpt...

According to an administration official, President Obama spent part of his Sunday afternoon watching a National Football League game on television. The White House did not release any details on the president's activities yesterday nor did it respond to DailyMail.com's request for confirmation that Obama's took the afternoon off to watch the playoffs. Both games were broadcast hours after the march. (Daily Mail)

....think about that one for a moment or two...

 

[Nebulous]

I love watching sports. Maybe that makes me qualified to hold political office?

Sounds good to me! I'll vote for you.