As it is with everything in life, Barack Obama's new Ebola Czar has a Florida connection. On Friday, Obama announced that former Al Gore chief-of-staff Ron Klain would be his new Ebola Czar.
Klain's objective is to basically be ahead of any new updates on the virus, as well as manage be on top of the way the U.S. responds to any such news, as well as trying to keep the public's panic-mode to a minimum.
Klain, who is not a scientist nor a doctor, is well known in Washington as a guy who can manage a crisis. He made his name as the lead lawyer for Gore during the 2000 Presidential election when Florida was caught up in its "hanging chad" fiasco (he would later be played by Kevin Spacey in a movie about the 2000 election recount).
See also: Ebola: Rick Scott Tells CDC It Must Contact All Fort Lauderdale Frontier Passengers
When it looked like Florida had screwed the pooch with the recount in 2000, Gore immediately turned to Klain to head the crew of lawyers to investigate the irregularities in voting and ballots in the Sunshine State.
The rest is, of course, history.
But, to this day, Klain maintains that Gore was robbed and that Florida messed everything up.
"What happened in Florida was in and of itself an injustice," Klain told the Huffinton Post earlier this year. "The bottom line is people went to the polls, they were denied the right to vote in a very questionable purge of voters. They were given ballots that were improperly counted. So I think it's a great injustice. It will always be a great injustice."
His eyes again on Florida, Klain recently tweeted out his thoughts on FanGate:
For years, I've taught a course at @Georgetown on political debates. Had never covered fans ... until now. . #fangate #CongratsGovCrist
— Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) October 16, 2014Now Klain has been pegged as the guy to lead the nation with the sudden Ebola scare.
In their announcement Friday, the White House said per the New York Times that Klain "comes to the job with strong management credentials, extensive federal government experience overseeing complex operations and good working relationships with leading members of Congress, as well as senior Obama administration officials, including the president."
The choice of Klain as the Ebola Czar has received mixed reviews, mainly because Klain is neither a scientist nor an Ebola expert.
The White House responded to those criticisms thusly:
WH spokesman Josh Earnest on Klain czar choice: We were looking for implementation expert, not an Ebola expert
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) October 17, 2014Send your story tips to the author, Chris Joseph. Follow Chris Joseph on Twitter
Follow @NewTimesBroward
