Ebola puts Obama’s campaign duties in flux
WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama’s best- laid plans to go all out for Democrats in the final weeks of the midterms are running smack into a widening Ebola crisis, as Americans anxiously turn to the government and their president for answers. Hours after unveiling an ambitious itinerary to boost Democratic candidates for governor, Obama abruptly called off the first stop on his tourWednesday, postponing a fundraiser in New Jersey and a rally in Connecticut for Gov. Dannel Malloy— Obama’s first major campaign appearance of the season. Instead, he summoned top officials to the Cabinet Room for an emergency meeting on the government’s response to Ebola. The rare move to cancel a presidential trip— only hours before Air Force One was scheduled to take off — reflected a growing sense of urgency at the White House to deal with the Ebola epidemic head- on. When previous crises have cropped up, such as the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, and the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet in Ukraine, Obama was sharply criticized for refusing to alter his travel plans. This time, the White House seems determined to show the commander in chief is fully engaged. So far, a trip slated for Thursday to Rhode Island and New York remains on Obama’s schedule. But that, too, could change. “If necessary, I have no doubt the president will postpone his political travel to attend to important priorities here,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. Yet if Obama’s schedule is in flux, his approach to the midterms is not. Obama plans a narrow focus on a handful of governor’s races, betting that Democratic wins in statehouses can help him protect his legacy on health care and the economy— even if the Senate falls to Republicans.