I have heard other comments from her and this was about the French taking back their country. After her comments to me, I understood it better.
The real importance of today was not world leader standing by the French, it was the huge crowd of French people taking to the streets, showing that they would not allow fear to let them cede their own country to the terrorists.
As to the US - as she said the US was one of the first countries to respond. I assume that had Hillary Clinton been SoS she too would have put out a very good statement. I doubt the statement would have been given in French, but it would have been translated. I think there was something special in Kerry, a man they knew had deep ties to France, speaking in French -- while a very nice touch, NOT doing this and not seeming to have the very personal connection would not have made the relationship with France any weaker.
As to her going there, the likelihood - given her schedule - is that like Kerry, she might have had a commitment that should not be broken.
Here, Kerry is in India. Our relationship with India is shaky, though friendly. They resent the aid we give their enemy Pakistan and their new PM was denied a VISA for a period of time. Kerry is there for many reasons - the main one is that he is there in advance of Obama going for a state visit. He is also there to strengthen the relationship. I suspect (especially as Ban Ki Mon is there as well, that Kerry has been working with them - like the Chinese - on climate change. He actually has a long history of working with both the Chinese and Indians on their position on this - most notably around the time of Bali.)
Kerry may not have had the ability to cancel the meetings in India and still have them before teh Obama trip. This is real work -- and it could be important to our relationship with the largest democracy..
Traveling to France to be there now is mostly symbolic. His words immediately after the event likely meant more than him standing there would have meant today. (In fact, given his statement in French, he likely would have been warmly received there -- and if he were motivated by being cheered on -- this would have been a no brainer.
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