Je suis Barack

How humiliating that the president of the United States continues to lead from behind -- so far behind, indeed, that he kept the Atlantic between him and the leaders who came to express their solidarity with the people of France. Those linking arms in the front row included the prime minister of Israel and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, but not Barack Obama, who was campaigning for everyone's right to a community college degree. His presence in Paris, the White House explained, might be a "distraction."