When world leaders walked down the Boulevard Voltaire in the Paris Unity rally on Sunday, the scene was not remarkable just for the number of officials who marched arm in arm – there was a glaring absence in the front line.  And the White House is admitting that was a mistake.

France’s President Francois Hollande was joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian PM Matteo Renzi, UK PM David Cameron, even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his bitter rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were only a few meters apart.  But the highest-ranking American official was back in the crowd, and US Ambassador to France Jane Hartley was unrecognizable with her hair up and under large sunglasses.

“I think it’s fair to say that we should have sent someone with a higher profile,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest who also claimed that US President Barack Obama would have liked to have gone.  But he didn’t.  And neither did Vice President Joe Biden, who is friendly with practically everyone who was in that crowd.  And neither did US Secretary of State John Kerry, a fluent French-speaker with long-standing ties to the country – so much so, that he was criticized as “too French” by some during his failed bid for the Presidency in 2004.  Kerry will be in Paris to discuss security on Friday.

After 24 hours of incredulous speculation, the White House said that it botched this test of international protocol.

“There is no doubt that the American people and this administration stand foursquare behind our allies in France as they face down this threat,” Earnest said.

The White House said that security concerns of the President or Vice President would have distracted from the purpose of the event.