President Obama is catching a lot of heat for not going to Paris for a unity rally in which an estimated 1.6 million people gathered to stand in solidarity against the terrorist attack that killed 12 people last week.
Among the dead: eight journalists. World leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas saw fit to attend, along with British PM David Cameron, Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and obviously French President Francois Hollande.
Notably missing was Obama, V.P. Joe Biden or even Secretary of State John Kerry. Even MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell called the absence “shocking” on her program Monday.
Reports from the White House show that Obama press aides have been trying to clean up the PR mess, saying he visited the French Embassy last week and signed a condolence book. In addition to that strenuous act, he mentioned France in a speech in Tennessee.
The excuse was that the security detail required for Obama and Biden is too daunting.
Considering Biden required a horse, two sedans, five motorcycle, four SUV’s and a shutdown street last week to go to lunch and eat a hamburger, we don’t doubt it. [RELATED: Biden Takes A Horse To Lunch]