13 thoughts on “What If They Had A White House Strategy Meeting On Ebola?”

  1. No real reason for him to show up…..there wasn’t billions to shuffle around to crony’s and lackeys and Big Business.

    He was selected sho that it woudl look like Obama was doinig something even though he isn’t.

    In a normal reality, it would be seen for what it was – facade. Which is all this president and administration is all about. Said best by Andrew McCarthY:

    “Therefore, politics cannot forever be stage-managed as a “narrative” with “optics,” a daily show focused on how the lead character is affected by the latest crisis.
    ……………………..
    And now the answers are so purposely, patently, and pervasively false, it suddenly seems as if nothing can be trusted — as if, even as our perils intensify, our government erects another house in its Potemkin village.

    Of course you can keep your health coverage, and your doctor. And we’ll cover everyone while your premiums plummet. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is “decimated” and these Islamic State guys are just the jayvee team. In fact (fact?), they’re not even Islamic — although they may not be quite as “secular” as the Muslim Brotherhood. Just extremists. (Extreme about what? Don’t ask.) Jihad is just a “purification of the self” . . . or, at most, “workplace violence.” Benghazi? A spontaneous “protest” incited by a video. The president was not told it was a terrorist attack . . . except by the secretary of defense right after it started — long before he responded by . . . going to Vegas, where he promptly announced al-Qaeda was “on the path to defeat.” Still, rest assured that the State Department’s top priority is the safety of American personnel . . . although we did reduce security in Benghazi after our facility was bombed. And rest assured that the Justice Department would never ever let guns walk . . . except for the thousands its Fast and Furious program transferred to violent gangs — who’ve used them in who knows how many crimes, including the murder of a Border Patrol agent. Still, at least there’s “not a smidgen of corruption” at the IRS, where citizens are harassed, evidence keeps disappearing, and the official at the center of it all takes the Fifth to avoid giving incriminating testimony. No matter. Just take heart that Ebola is not coming to the United States . . . um, well, if it does come there will be no outbreak . . . but, er, if there is an outbreak, we have careful protocols and health-care professionals fully trained to deal with it . . . and even if the protocols don’t work and the professionals don’t have adequate training, we’ll have a rigorous monitoring program for anyone who is exposed . . . or maybe a self-monitoring program for people who will isolate themselves . . . unless, of course, we tell them to go ahead and hop on a plane. Well, look, at least we can promise there won’t be a “serious” outbreak.

    If you say so.”

  3. Hey, at least Sylvia Burwell was there. Last Obama heard from her was a 40 second phone call before heading for his 200th round on the links. It made for a great photo-op.

  4. Best tweet I’ve seen is “Obama appointed Ron Klain to protect him… not you.”

    There are doctors on the ground in Africa who’ve dealt with prior Ebola outbreaks and who have had to coordinate efforts of both the CDC, WHO, and local doctors. How about one of those for czar? Maybe the head of Doctors Without Borders?

    But Obama picked a political fixer and a lawyer, similar to George W Bush putting Michael Brown in charge of FEMA, even though Brown was merely a lawyer whose previous top accomplishment was becoming the commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, That ended with “You’re doing a heck of a job, Brownie” and Bush ended up with an albatross around his neck.

    But Brown was appointed when we weren’t already facing a crisis and he had a few years in the job before the public had reason to question his competence and complete lack of background needed to run FEMA. We had the luxury of assuming he was competent until he proved us wrong. But Klain was appointed when the entire world is focused on the problem he’s tasked to fix, a problem that we all desperately want fixed, and we’re looking at his resume and asking “Why did you even apply for this job? Did you get lost when you stepped out of the elevator? We’re looking for a Chief of Staph. You’re a Chief of Staff.”

    Second, why does Obama need an Ebola czar? He’s got the HHS, which even has a deputy administrator in charge of pandemic response. Shouldn’t the head of HHS, DHS, or their deputy administrator already be the Ebola czar? He’s got a surgeon general with experience working for the CDC’s disease intelligence unit. He’s got a head of FEMA, and Ebola is an emergency. He’s got a CDC director. To an already confused and overlapping organizational chart, Obama’s merely inserted another position whose authority is unclear and whose skills and background are non-existent.

    That kind of muddied organizational structure is what led to the Bay of Pigs, and in the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs Kennedy and his advisers fixed the glaring dysfunctions in the decision-making apparatus. After six years in office, Obama’s team still hasn’t realized that to lead, instead of merely to campaign, they have to do the same.

    The only thing that gives me any hope is that Obama bragged that he’d hugged and kissed the Ebolo nurses down at Emory. If he catches it and spreads it to his cabinet and the lot of them die a slow painful death, there’s at least a chance we’ll respond to this crisis with some competent leadership.

    1. I think for Obama, the two most important persons in the room are Jennifer Palmieri and Josh Earnest. But George, did you notice even State has an Ebola Coordinator. I think Nancy’s job is to assure flights to the US from West Africa.

    2. “To an already confused and overlapping organizational chart, Obama’s merely inserted another position whose authority is unclear and whose skills and background are non-existent.”

      No wonder they didn’t care if he skipped the meeting.

    3. If people cared about competence, Obama would’ve never been elected in the first place. For Obama to appoint someone actually qualified would be out of character and likely beyond his ability.

    4. Out of curiosity, what is the justification for the creation of administrative “czars” from a Kremlinology point-of-view? Is there a formal idea or theory behind “czar” creation, or it’s just a peculiar behavioral feature of the Obama administration or the US executive branch in general.

      1. Karl,

        The “czar” concept is several presidents old and I cannot recall which Prez started it. Could be either Dem or Rep.

        I know Nixon appointed “czars” but according to wiki (FWIW) the first such thing was created in the 30’s.

  5. Meanwhile, right as the crisis is mounting:

    From Politico:

    “Nearly 22,000 Coloradoans will have their insurance policies canceled beginning in January at least in part due to Obamacare.
    ……………………..
    The sharp increase from September to October is likely the result of state requirements that consumers get 90-day notice before their plans are canceled. That means, consumers whose policies began in January — a common time to begin health coverage — and face cancellations would have gotten word last month.”

    And as just a little icing:

    “Udall became embroiled in controversy over health insurance cancellations early this year, when emails release suggested his office had pressured state officials to revise downward the number of plans canceled in Colorado. ”

    Yet another example of how government doesn’t care about YOU. They never heard of you and do not know you exist.

    The loss of insurance – right at this critical time in a lot of people’s minds – is going to get much worse after Nov. 4th.

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