Obama picks EBOLA Czar.... medical superstar?

[Cow Poke]

Nope... just a political hack.

Source: TheFederalist.com

Earlier today, President Barack Obama announced that he would be appointing Ron Klain as an additional Ebola czar (he already had one before today). If Ron Klain sounds familiar to you, it’s because he has a long political pedigree. He has no medical, scientific, or federal agency administrative expertise, but he has a whole lot of political experience.

In January of 2011, Klain stepped down as chief of staff for Vice President Joe Biden. Before that, Ron Klain was a well-connected Washington lobbyist. According to Senate lobbying disclosure records, Klain’s clients included Fannie Mae, U.S. Airways, Time Warner, CIGNA, and Imclone.

Klain also worked as chief of staff for former Vice President Al Gore, Janet Reno, the Senate Democratic Leadership Committee, and the Senate Judiciary Committee. But that’s not all! Ron Klain did debate prep for both Obama and former president Bill Clinton. And if that weren’t enough, Klain was also general counsel of Al Gore’s election recount committee in 2000.

© Copyright Original Source

What do you expect from a community organizer?

[Zymologist]

I think this is the story you meant to link to.

[Cow Poke]

I think this is the story you meant to link to.

Naw, but that'll do.

And from THAT story... the guy IS a doctor! A SPIN doctor!

Source: above link

Mr. Klain is uniquely positioned to help Mr. Obama counter such questions and rein in a story that has sometimes seemed to spiral out of the White House’s control, said one Democratic operative.

“He’ll control the message better than most people would, which is really important from an economic standpoint, from a health standpoint, but it’s also important from a political perspective,” the operative said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

© Copyright Original Source

[Zymologist]

I just figured I'd be the first to drop that other link here.

[Darth Executor]

Barack Obola.

[Spartacus]

There's actually something fitting about picking a PR guy to handle it, since this whole scare is more in the media than in reality. The administration may have accidentally done something right.

[Cow Poke]

Well, yeah, cause nobody believes anything Josh Earnest says.... and let's not actually work the PROBLEM, let's just lure people into a false sense of security.

[Teallaura]

[Sam]

Well, yeah, cause nobody believes anything Josh Earnest says.... and let's not actually work the PROBLEM, let's just lure people into a false sense of security.

The question to ask here is what problem the "Ebola Czar" is to solve and what qualities are needed to solve it. Do we need another epidemiologist (the good Lord knows these same people complaining aren't listening to the epidemiologists who are talking now) or do we need a person skilled at interdepartmental cooperation and communication? If the latter, why is Ron Klain a poor choice?

I fear, like the Ebola crisis itself, the people hyperventilating and complaining have a lot of overlap with the people who don't have a rational understanding of Ebola, its transmission and its likelihood of creating a large outbreak in the US (as well as the set of people who focus on this as a huge policy problem until Nov. 5 and then move onto something else entirely).

[Zymologist]

The question to ask here is what problem the "Ebola Czar" is to solve and what qualities are needed to solve it. Do we need another epidemiologist (the good Lord knows these same people complaining aren't listening to the epidemiologists who are talking now) or do we need a person skilled at interdepartmental cooperation and communication? If the latter, why is Ron Klain a poor choice?

I fear, like the Ebola crisis itself, the people hyperventilating and complaining have a lot of overlap with the people who don't have a rational understanding of Ebola, its transmission and its likelihood of creating a large outbreak in the US (as well as the set of people who focus on this as a huge policy problem until Nov. 5 and then move onto something else entirely).

Do we even have an understanding of the transmission of Ebola? I ask because I really don't know.

[Spartacus]

Do we even have an understanding of the transmission of Ebola? I ask because I really don't know.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/

It's transmitted by contact with the bodily fluids of symptomatic individuals.

If you don't trust that, you can google it for yourself.

[Sam]

Do we even have an understanding of the transmission of Ebola? I ask because I really don't know.

Yup; as Spart says, the Ebola virus is transmitted through bodily fluids — most notably the blood, diarrhea and vomiting that starts flowing after a patient becomes symptomatic. Prior to showing symptoms, the patient isn't contagious. Essentially, once people start showing a fever, they are contagious, though have a low risk of transmitting the disease unless they are spraying bodily fluids around. Given the much better healthcare system in developed countries and the ability to isolate and quickly treat patients (affected countries in Western Africa have 1-5 doctors per 100,000 individuals, whereas the USA has ~250 per 100,000), it's very unlikely any of us here will ever be within 500 ft. of a symptomatic patient, let alone be exposed to high-risk material. Here's a useful chart from WSJ:

EI-CJ586_TXEBOL_16U_20141009133615.jpg

[Cow Poke]

The question to ask here is what problem the "Ebola Czar" is to solve and what qualities are needed to solve it. Do we need another epidemiologist (the good Lord knows these same people complaining aren't listening to the epidemiologists who are talking now) or do we need a person skilled at interdepartmental cooperation and communication? If the latter, why is Ron Klain a poor choice?

I fear, like the Ebola crisis itself, the people hyperventilating and complaining have a lot of overlap with the people who don't have a rational understanding of Ebola, its transmission and its likelihood of creating a large outbreak in the US (as well as the set of people who focus on this as a huge policy problem until Nov. 5 and then move onto something else entirely).

I don't think we need a PR guy -- I think we need a general. Somebody to set up realistic protocols consistent across treatment centers, and put some actual medical FACT out there, not just "feel good" stuff.

You REALLY think we need another "you can keep your doctor - period" spokesperson?

What we NEED is somebody who actually knows what they're doing and STOPS this thing -- I'd feel MUCH better with that, than some talking head saying "everything is OK". We've HAD that.

[Sam]

One thing we do want to keep an eye on is the fact that Ebola can be transmitted through semen and breastmilk for a period of time after symptoms disappear. Here in the US, that's unlikely to pose a problem, as formula and condoms are aplenty. In West Africa, this could theoretically prolong the epidemics or create a series of epidemics and pauses going forward.

http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/conten...nt_2/S142.full

[Sam]

I don't think we need a PR guy -- I think we need a general. Somebody to set up realistic protocols consistent across treatment centers, and put some actual medical FACT out there, not just "feel good" stuff.

You REALLY think we need another "you can keep your doctor - period" spokesperson?

What we NEED is somebody who actually knows what they're doing and STOPS this thing -- I'd feel MUCH better with that, than some talking head saying "everything is OK". We've HAD that.

It doesn't sound like you have a very clear idea of what the problem is, let alone what is needed to "stop this thing." What are we stopping, exactly? The transmission of Ebola in the few patients we're likely to see on US soil? That's a problem more readily dealt with by already-existing health agencies and hospital networks. A general won't be much help making sure those groups are communicating well and acting effectively. Someone knowledgeable of the relevant departments is much better, since the talking to hospital groups is better performed by already-existing connections in HHS or the CDC.

I'm very much in favor of "medical FACT" taking a more prominent role in this situation. That way, more people would realize that Ebola panic — especially moving into flu season — is a far more detrimental and dangerous threat than actual Ebola in the US. Given how this topic has been treated by many politicians and media outlets (looking at you, FOX News (excepting Shep Smith)), I don't think any Obama appointee would be well-received in delivering that message.