LaSalle Professor: Evidence Suggests Pres. Obama Unhappy With CDC Response To Ebola
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – On Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Dom Giordano hosted a forum at LaSalle University to address Ebola and talked to Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Michael J. Boyle about political fallout from the virus.
Boyle said President Obama intervened in the crises because he was unhappy with governmental reaction.
"The evidence suggests that Obama was very angry at the response of the [Centers for Disease Control], and he was very angry about the lack of control for medical personnel who have come back from those areas, and it struck me when he appointed Ron Klain as the kind of bureaucratic fixer, that he is less looking for a medical health professional than some who could fix the government bureaucracy, that his diagnosis was the government was broken, not that the response was."
By taking control, though, he believes the President now assumes all the political risk associated with the virus.
"He is essentially saying,' I'm taking responsibility for this. We're putting responsibility for this on the White House.' But in truth, he doesn't have control over the issue. So, say for example, if there's another Ebola case for medical personnel in the United States in three weeks, that will go more on the White House than the CDC. So, by appointing the Czar, in a sense he's making it his problem, and he's going to incur the political cost associated with it."
Boyle also stated the White House believes the military's involvement can stop aid workers returning on commercial flights from carrying Ebola with them.
"What's been happening is almost the militarization of the response, and it's partially because the Pentagon has the capacity to be able to do it. One of the things that the Obama administration is trying to do is set up military run field personnel for medical staff, and part of the idea there is really to stop medical personnel from getting on a plane, getting to Europe, getting to the United States. It's less to help the people on the ground."