Ebola presents health, political challenges for Obama

The Debrief An occasional series offering a reporter’s insights

President Obama addresses the media Thursday in the Oval Office after a meeting with his team coordinating the government’s Ebola response. (Kevin Dietsch / Pool/EPA)

By Juliet Eilperin

President Obama has canceled campaign trips, convened high-level meetings with his top security and health advisers, and consulted with seven heads of state around the globe in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola. All in the past two days.
But all the scrambling has done little to reassure a jittery American public that the danger is contained or to stanch the political fallout, some of it from lawmakers in his own party, in the run-up to tough midterm elections next month.
Cognizant of the dangers that come from going before the public without answers, Obama has emphasized the low probability that the deadly disease will become a large-scale outbreak in the United States because it is not easily transmitted. But in the wake of acknowledged errors that led to the infections of two nurses in Dallas, the White House is now engulfed in a crisis that has resurrected questions about the president’s governing style.
After meeting with top aides in the Oval Office for nearly two hours Thursday night, Obama sought to address some of the criticism lawmakers have lodged against him by saying he may appoint one person, or “czar,” to oversee the federal response. But he reiterated that Americans remain safe.
“I understand people are scared,” the president said. “I do want everyone to understand it remains a very difficult thing to catch. The risks involved remain extremely low for ordinary folks.”

White House press secretary Josh Earnest was asked Thursday if President Obama was angry that another health-care worker was diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. Earnest responded saying that some aspects of the response "have fallen short" of Obama's expectations. (AP)

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said in an interview Thursday the administration was seeking “a delicate balance” as it grappled with questions about how best to address the disease on American soil.
“We need to try to calm people because many people are fanning the flames here in a way that’s deeply irresponsible, but we also understand that there is real concern, and we’re trying to be sensitive to that,” Pfeiffer said. “That’s the balance we’re trying to strike.”

Posted on Oct 17 2014 - 11:00am by Dee Apphiaanna « PREVIOUS | Categorized as NEWS 75 Tagged as Former Military Head of StateGen. Muhammadu BuhariN27.5m APC Nomination Form Related Monalisa Chinda and Ex hubby stargist Monalisa Chinda Reacts To Rumoured Reconciliation With Her Ex Husband 2face Idibia. 2face Idibia Explains Why He Doesn’t Dig Flaunting His Wealth On Social Media Toyin Aimakhu and Ibinabo stargist Yoruba Actress Toyin Aimakhu Elected As AGN Vice President South West Former military head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, who picked his nomination form for presidency on Thursday,said he felt sorry for himself for picking up the presidential nomination form for a whooping sum of N27.5M. It is worthy of note that Gen.Buhari has been contesting for the Presidency since 1999 and holds the record for contesting for the presidency the most times. In a chat with Premuim Times,he said: “It is a pity I couldn’t influence this amount to be trickled down, as it was done in the case of ladies that intended to participate in the election. I felt heavily sorry for myself, because I didn’t want to go and ask somebody to pay for my nomination. If you could recall, even the last one, I always try to pay for myself, at least for the nomination. Thank goodness I have a personal relationship with the manager of my bank in Kaduna, which I have called and told that the forms are coming, so I don’t know whether I’m in red, green or black, but all I know is that I must honor this, otherwise I will lose the nomination.So this morning, the bank manager in Abuja decided to bring the money and I asked one of my nephews to quickly bring the form. I sign and I got the papers which the national organising secretary received. I thank God that I have come to this stage. All speculation will now cease,” The national chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, told Buhari that the party decided to place the fee at N27.5 million, “to separate the men from the boys-.” Meanwhile, Buhari would be going head-to head with Atiku Abubakar at the party’s primaries.

Read full article here: http://stargist.com/2014/10/17/why-muhammadu-buhari-had-to-pay-n27-5m-for-the-presidential-apc-nomination-form/ | NIGERIA CELEBRITY NEWS, NOLLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT GIST, GOSSIP, PHOTOS & BIOGRAPHY