A competent and rational president would have picked… perhaps a noted epidemiologist to coordinate the administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak, or perhaps someone from the military accustomed to mustering and managing large numbers of diverse people and resources.
Obama chose a fiercely partisan Democrat lawyer and lobbyist. These are the qualifications of freshly appointed Ebola Czar Ron Klain.
In January of 2011, Klain stepped down as chief of staff for Vice President Joe Biden. Before that, Ron Klain was a well-connected Washington lobbyist. According to Senate lobbying disclosure records, Klain’s clients included Fannie Mae, U.S. Airways, Time Warner, CIGNA, and Imclone.
Klain also worked as chief of staff for former Vice President Al Gore, Janet Reno, the Senate Democratic Leadership Committee, and the Senate Judiciary Committee. But that’s not all! Ron Klain did debate prep for both Obama and former president Bill Clinton. And if that weren’t enough, Klain was also general counsel of Al Gore’s election recount committee in 2000.
So, Klain was probably one of those guys high-fiving each other after disqualifying thousands of military votes over minor technicalities.
A cynic might suggest that his appointment shows Obama is more concerned with managing the political and public relations side of the Ebola outbreak the medical side.
This would be like George W. Bush putting Karl Rove in charge of the Hurricane Katrina response.
Obama has appointed “his” czar and is on to fund-raising so that “his” Senate stays inert.
“His” czar will also be inert.
Inertia is how they roll.
Ron Fournier write this in the National Journal:
Even more disturbing than his lack of medical or clinical credentials — is his lack of autonomy and direct Presidential support. Rather than reporting directly to the President, and so having the authority to speak for the President. Klain reports to Natl Security Adviser Rice via an Asst. Sec’y. for Homeland Security.
(Note the lack of any Medical or HHS/CDC/Public Health Service in that chain of authority.)
So obviously this is a police powers-crisis, not a medical solution. Good thing we still have those secret camps in Montana available.
Couldn’t we at least have started with a Surgeon Freakin’ General? *sigh*
Rather than appoint a “czar” How about getting a decent head of the CDC who don’t make contradictory statements about being able to transmit Ebola on a bus, but being unable to catch Ebola on a bus?
All politics all the time.
So what about the zillions we’ve spent over the years on the Dept. of Homeland Security; the CDC; NIH; USAMRID and the rest of the alphabet soup of government?
I would have expected an MD or DO, epidemiologist, biologist that also has demonstrated management and organizational experience.
Pat Buchanan points out in a recent column the routine quarantine of homes where measles, mumps and the like had broken out. But that was back when we had common sense.
Up to this point, I figured BHO just doesn’t care about his responsibilities to the people. Now he’s just rubbing our noses in it.
In fairness, maybe Klain is some sort of wizard but, up to now, BHO hasn’t been known for appointing wizards. (Well, dark wizards aside. That’s dark as in Voldemort not as in racial.)
The carnival cruise ship with the Dallas hospital worker showing signs of O bola, & 4632 others, has been turned away on threat of sinking by Belize and Mexico. Lame stream US media is reporting no symptoms but Belize reported there was and the US State dept sent an Air ambulance to Belize. Mexico is showing us how to enforce the border.
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2014/10/17/carnival-magic-cruise-ship-denied-port-entry-in-mexico-ship-returning-to-galveston-texas/#more-90691
When asking yourself if someone is stupid or evil remember its possible to be both. Plan to bring non-citizens to the US for O Bola treatment- anti-quarantine
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/10/coming-to-america-obama-to-bring-ebola-infected-foreigners-to-us-for-treatment/
Why on Earth would a health care professional take the risk of traveling on a cruise ship knowing that two of their coworkers are now ill? Are people that stupid? Selfish? If the health care worker is indeed positive for Eloba and survives, they should be charged with a crime.
TnnsNe1, to answer your question, remember that the Ebola crisis only came to view six months ago, in Africa. It only came to the U.S. in the past few weeks, and many cruise ships have these low fares that are non-refundable, even if you reserve your spot a year in advance.
It could very easily be that:
1) They got a really cheap rate over six months ago with a non-refundable clause, back when if you said, “But what if we have an Ebola outbreak?” you would have scoffed.
2) They paid attention to the protocols they were given, and listened to the lies told about how difficult it is to catch, and thought that there was no way they would catch it.
3) They were already on the cruise ship when the other two came down with symptoms.
I am an experienced cruiser… Nonrefundable, yes. However, you don’t expose others.
We were on a 10 day cruise. We came down with swine flu while onboard. We self quarrentined. 6 days together in a 123 sf room. When we finally left our room, we discovered that two women who danced with us knew they had swine flu but decided to party anyway.
It is one thing to leave a hospital job and go home. It is quite another to jump onto a ship with 4000 people.
Yup, political partisan ideologue hack appoints same to sham position as window dressing to cover up the fact he could care less about Ebola. The newly minted Ebola Czar has already missed two meetings since his appointment and has also notified Congress that he will not be present at the Congressional hearings on Ebola on Friday. Yup. You cannot make this crap up! Can you imagine the explosion that would occur if this was a Republican president pulling this crap?