AP: White House: Should have sent high official to Paris march - "Obama's team has sometimes struggled with the optics of his being commander in chief." [Not to worry, Obama's 'optics' are all too revealing --tma]

White House: Should have sent high official to Paris march



WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare public admission of error, the White House said Monday the U.S. should have sent a high-level official to an anti-terror march in Paris that was attended by more than 40 world leaders.

The Obama administration was represented Sunday by the U.S. ambassador to France, though Attorney General Eric Holder was in Paris for security meetings.

"It's fair to say we should have sent someone with a higher profile," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Secretary of State John Kerry was on a long-planned trip to India on Sunday but now will visit France later this week.

The White House appeared to have been caught off guard by both the display of international unity at the Paris march and the criticism of its decision to be represented only by Ambassador Jane Hartley. Monday's admission of error seemed aimed at blunting criticism that the decision was tone deaf or disrespectful of the long U.S. alliance with France, a country set on edge by three days of terror that resulted in 17 deaths.

While some of the sharpest criticism of the failure to send a high-level official came from Republicans, some officials within the administration were also frustrated with the decision to send only the ambassador. The move also underscored the degree to which President Barack Obama's team has sometimes struggled with the optics of his being commander in chief. ...

http://news.yahoo.com/absence-top-us-official-paris-march-stokes-criticism-164412375--politics.html