Jimmy Carter Defends Obama’s Absence in Paris March

STEWART: "You're incredible. Obviously the events in the world this week were tragic. President Obama taking lot of schtick for not going to Paris to march in solidarity. When Tito died in Yugoslavia, you also took a fair amount of heat for that. What does that feel like, and what is the decision-making process to say 'Yeah, I'm going to go, I'm not going to go.' Is it political? Is it personal? How does that go?"
CARTER: "I think it is both. Political and personal. First of all there is a tremendous amount of effort that has to be made for a president to go somewhere on a 36 hour notice. I can understand how it was very difficult for President Obama to go at the last minute. Secondly, he has a lot of other duties to perform. He has been on vacation for a couple of weeks, I'm sure his desk is piled up this high. I don't blame him for not going. John Kerry the Secretary of State speaks fluent French and he was the first one to send condolences and a bond of common commitment to freedom to the French people."