Unfortunately, Obama has a six-year history of failing to appoint the best qualified people to key positions. There was no compelling reason for him to change course now. Political hackery over competence is always Option 1 for this president. He sees everything as a political fight - Obama's legacy is his total lack of statesmanship.

Unfortunately, Obama has a six-year history of failing to appoint the best qualified people to key positions. There was no compelling reason for him to change course now. Political hackery over competence is always Option 1 for this president. He sees everything as a political fight - Obama's legacy is his total lack of statesmanship.

Republican hacks would denounce the President's choice even if it was Albert Schweitzer or Tom Dooley .

Republican hacks would denounce the President's choice even if it was Albert Schweitzer or Tom Dooley .

And Obama apologists would defend him if he had placed a laughingstock like Joe Biden personally in charge of the Ebola fight.

Haters gonna hate.

 

And gonna say, "the other side does it too".

Sure. If you like.

 

There's a lot of politics being played on the right on this one (Ted Cruz connecting Ebola to a southern border issue is pretty insulting to the intelligence of the American electorate but no one's ever lost an election doing that), so he needs some advice on how to handle this politically as well.

 

But the overall "U.S. response" to this crisis will be primarily a foreign policy issue, which also means co-ordination with the State department and NGOs as we here in the States have doctors, equipment, and money that are sorely needed by countries in West Africa to end the crisis there.

 

There's a lot of coordination and information gathering to be done. That's what this guy can do well.

This was a great opportunity for Obama to have made his first non-political appointment. Naming a person to the position that would have attracted bi-partisan support would have been a much better decision politically than picking a political hack. Democratic candidates who are struggling for their political lives must be privately cursing Obama's timing and poor judgment in private.

 

If Obama wanted to name a non-doctor to this position, then he should have at least shown the good sense to have appointed a less overtly partisan individual to the post.

Highly disappointed. He should have appointed Mnt. Ref, as he knows everything! lol jk

 

Would love a shot at it. A few on this site we could test a new vaccine on after I send them to Africa for a little vacation.

I don't think it's made up; he needed someone he trusted to gather all the information coming in from every executive agency working on this, pare it down, and bring it all to him in a useful way. That's what this guy is for. He's been chief of staff to a couple influential people and that job is nothing but taking in massive quantities of information all day then paring it down to the most important stuff to take to the guy you work for.

 

This guy isn't supposed to do the CDC's job. He's not supposed to do the INS's job. He's not supposed to do the Department of Homeland Security's job. He IS supposed to gather all the information from those agencies and present it to the president as often as possible in a useful way.

 

When I say 'made up' I mean that the position never existed before. This is a new position isn't it?

Republican hacks would denounce the President's choice even if it was Albert Schweitzer or Tom Dooley .

 

This is true as well.

Just when you thought he might start making sound choices and fly right. He picks a career politician with zero HC experience . He might be polling in the 20's by the time he leaves office . Sometimes I think he's intelligent , just opposite me politically , then he makes a stupid move like this . Unreal.

 

Don't make the mistake of overestimating Obama's intelligence or underestimating his arrogance. I did years ago before I figured out he is just not that bright yet thinks he is brilliant. Once you realize these two things, it makes what he does every day much more understandable.

 

He also seems to think the being POTUS is just a side job between golf outings and fund raising dinners...

Shouldn't the Surgeon General be the President's point person on all National Health Crises...I don't under stand why a Czar needs to be appointed.

Shouldn't the Surgeon General be the President's point person on all National Health Crises...I don't under stand why a Czar needs to be appointed.

Another Czar is just another body to throw under the bus if things do not go well. An incompetent administration can never have too many potential scapegoats on hand.