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As the Ebola chaos grows, no one knows how much the situation will influence politics in the USA. It's just impossible to say at this time.
But there is no question it will have an impact.
Right now some experts believe Ebola is suppressing the stock market and that will affect every American, as fear hurts the economy.
A new Fox News poll of registered voters gives us a political snapshot.
How do you feel about the direction of the country?
- Thirty-six percent: hopeful
- Sixty-one percent: not hopeful
How are things going in the world today?
- To hell in a handbasket: 58%
- Everything will be alright: 35%
The handbasket aside, it is clear Americans are not happy with the way the country is being run.
And the next question illuminates that.
Is the country worse off or better off since Barack Obama became president?
So the folks are blaming the president for much of the dissatisfaction.
And President Obama is at fault. His leadership on many serious issues has been lacking.
There is no question he made a tremendous mistake in the War on Terror by pulling all U.S. troops out of Iraq.
The Obama administration has also underestimated the Muslim jihadists and has no effective strategy for containing their terror.
The president has been outfoxed by Putin, Iran and China.
Overall, America's standing in the world has been greatly diminished under the Obama administration.
Here at home the most important indicator of economic well-being, take-home pay, has fallen under the president.
Democrats can spin all they want, but the cold truth is working Americans have less money in their pockets than in the past.
A combination of high taxes and mediocre wages has hammered the folks.
And now we have the stock market tottering, which will bring more bad news to the marketplace.
It is difficult to see any great improvements under President Obama. It will take years to figure out the benefits, if any, of Obamacare.
However, when Americans were asked their opinion of the Republican Party, 54% said unfavorable; just 36% favorable.
On the Democratic side, 50% unfavorable, 43% favorable.
Now, that doesn't make much sense. You would think the Democrats would be far less popular than the Republicans, with strong dissatisfaction in the country.
But that is not the case.
The reason is lack of leadership on the Republican side.
There is no leading GOP voice. No one person who Americans feel comfortable with in the political arena.
In fact Talking Points now believes Mitt Romney will once again run for president and could very well secure the nomination.
But obviously anything can happen in this turbulent time.
When asked for whom would you vote if the midterm elections were held today, 45% of likely voters say they would support the Republican candidate; 42% the Democrat. Very close.
But interest in the upcoming election tilts heavily to the GOP.
Seventy-nine percent of the Republican voters are very interested in the election; 67% of Democrats are.
Now on to Ebola.
There is no question that the federal government is mishandling the situation, and again that will go right back to the White House.
The point man on Ebola -- CDC chief Dr. Thomas Frieden -- is botching the situation big time.
We've already pounded Dr. Frieden on his inexplicable opposition to suspending visa and passports from West Africa.
And yesterday the man could not even explain how Ebola should be handled in public transportation.
DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: “If you’re a member of the traveling public and are healthy, should you be worried that you might have gotten it by sitting next to someone? And the answer is no. Second, if you are sick and you may have Ebola, should you get on a bus? And the answer to that is also no. You might become ill, you might have a problem that exposes someone around you.”
But if you can't get Ebola by traveling on a bus, how can an Ebola victim expose you?
Once again, Dr. Frieden is confused.
So Talking Points will help him.
If you are sitting on a bus and someone next to you has Ebola and sneezes on you, you can get it.
Are you understanding that Dr. Frieden?
So the federal government has to keep Ebola victims out of the public arena.
That means no people from the epidemic area should be admitted to the USA, something Frieden opposes but is absolutely the correct thing to do:
REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): “We need a plan to treat those who are sick, to train healthcare workers to safely provide care, and to stop the spread of this disease here at home and at its source in Africa. This includes travel restrictions or bans from that region beginning today.”
Even President Obama's acolytes are saying that:
JAY CARNEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: “I think substantive actions need to be taken, and they may involve flight restrictions.”
Not only flights, no admittance to any person holding passports from the Ebola epidemic areas.
I mean you could fly to Montreal and drive in. So no admittance until we get things sorted out here.
Finally, I have nothing personally against Dr. Frieden, but his performance on Ebola has been awful and he has to go.
The fact that the Obama administration continues to put this man in the spotlight will hurt the president of the United States.
And that is the Ebola factor.
And that's the memo.
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