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Ebola: Americans express concerns over Obama’s slow response

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks after being presented with the Ambassador for Humanity Award by movie producer Steven Spielberg at the USC Shoah Foundation 20th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles May 7, 2014.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks after being presented with the Ambassador for Humanity Award by movie producer Steven Spielberg at the USC Shoah Foundation 20th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles May 7, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Rising public anxiety about the Ebola virus has forced the White House to shift into crisis mode and cancel two days of planned political events as President Barack Obama strives to show he has control over stopping the spread of the deadly disease. Just three weeks ahead of critical midterm elections, Obama is facing increased pressure from Republican critics. They say he has been too slow to protect Americans, drawing parallels to what they have described as foot-dragging on dealing with the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Democrats who are at risk of losing control of the Senate in the November elections are worried that public concerns over Obama’s management of Ebola could hurt them, too. Obama’s job approval ratings are at 39 percent, according to Reuters-Ipsos polls in the first week of October. “At a time in which his job approval rating is quite low and his party is suffering because of it, I think that this is just one more cut in what’s turned out to be the death by a thousand cuts for President Obama,” said Ross Baker, a political scientists at Rutgers. Republican lawmakers, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, turned up the pressure on Wednesday with calls for travel bans for the three African nations afflicted by the Ebola outbreak. Polls show that move would be popular with Americans. The White House has ruled out a ban, saying it would hamper the movement of supplies and aid workers needed to help stop the epidemic in the region. Other lawmakers, including some Democrats, have urged the White House to name a point person to coordinate the response, lead briefings, and command public confidence. “It’s getting away from them, and this is becoming a real concern for us,” said a Democratic Senate aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Monday Ashibogwu

Monday Michaels Ashibogwu is Editor-In-Chief of QUICK NEWS AFRICA, one of Nigeria's leading online news service.

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