This could be Obamas biggest Ebola blunder yet. I cant even imagine what he is thinking. The Man Obama Just Named As Ebola Czar Is Missing This One Key Thing On His Resume With the countrys growing concern about Ebola... With the country’s growing concern about Ebola, and with his personal assurance to the American people that his administration would take a more aggressive approach to containing the deadly virus in the United States, one might reasonably think that President Obama would appoint a noted medical expert to be his Ebola czar. Then again…. The belief that Barack Obama approaches all matters of government with a keen and constant eye toward politics and power has been reinforced with the president’s naming of his point person to coordinate the country’s Ebola response and containment effort. That person is Ron Klain. Klain is a long-time Democrat insider and operative with quite an impressive political resume. What is missing from that resume — and what some might say is surprising in its absence — is any apparent expertise with, or meaningful work in, health care, medical issues, or infectious diseases. In other words, the man President Obama wants to head up the nation’s Ebola-fighting efforts is not a doctor, not a medical professional, and not a researcher. He’s a life-long Democrat who has for decades served in high-level positions for top Democrats. And oh yes, he has worked for a powerful D.C. lobbying firm. Some of the highlights of the politics-heavy career of this Harvard-educated lawyer include: * Clinton-Gore campaign worker * Chief of Staff to Attorney General Janet Reno * Chief of Staff for VP Al Gore * Chief of Staff for VP Joe Biden * Senior Aide to President Obama And as USA Today reports, Klain was squarely in the middle of the Solyndra controversy that swirled around the Obama White House: As Biden’s chief of staff, Klain had a key role in implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — and signed off on one of its most controversial projects: a $535 million loan guarantee to solar panel maker Solyndra. In the Washington Post story on the appointment of Obama’s new Ebola czar, Klain is praised backwards and forwards for his political prowess. The glaring fact that he lacks any relevant medical experience is treated as an afterthought: Former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), who was a longtime political adviser to Biden, called Klain well-suited for the role based on his varied experience dealing with Congress, the White House and the media. As a young general counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kaufman said, Klain gut his teeth helping advise the committee during the contentious, and ultimately failed, nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in the late 1980s.” However, the Fox News report on Ron Klain takes a far different approach to the appointment. This piece points to a much more experienced and seemingly well-suited candidate for the job who was clearly passed over in favor of someone with a deep-seated sense of big-time politics and how the Washington power game is played for partisan advantage. In making the appointment, Obama will effectively bypass another official, Dr. Nicole Lurie, who has served as assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR) at the Department of Health and Human Services since July 2009. Congress, nearly a decade ago, created that post, which would seem to fit the bill for Ebola coordinator — at least on paper. Yet, as Obama prepares to name Klain, the senior official currently filling that health job has been virtually absent from the public eye. She’s on the team, the Obama administration insists — just not in the lead. Read more at westernjournalism/the-man-obama-just-named-as-ebola-czar-is-missing-this-one-key-thing-on-his-resume/#3Bf74YMZrpKlBb2G.99
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:28:28 +0000