car. this contradicts what some witnesses have said. we'll take a closer look at this report and bring you the very latest at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> don't go anywhere. "smerconish" starts right now. hello and welcome to the program. a flood of breaking developments in this terrifying ebola story. i want you to stay with me because i'm going to spend the entire hour really honing in on the most important and troubling questions and i'm going to try to get some real information that you haven't heard anywhere else. so let's get to it. so here's what i want to drill down on today. the key questions about ebola. and i think they are as follows. number one, is the new ebola czar ron klain the right guy for the job? two, is it time for the u.s. to

impose a travel ban? and would it work? number three, it's probably not possible for all u.s. hospitals to treat ebola patients shouldn't she only be treated at specially equipped hospitals? number three, has the media overblown ebola? number five, has ebola already decided the midterm elections? has this october surprise cost the democrats the senate? number six, we have to stop this where it started. so what's the mission of the u.s. troops on the ground in liberia? and finally, number seven, what if airplanes are exposed to the virus? can they ever be properly cleaned and decontaminated? who's in charge of the crisis? now we know. it's this guy, ron klain. but now the big question is, is he the right guy? joining me is dr. alexander garza of the st. louis university college of public health and social justice. he's the chief medical officer in the department of homeland security.

doctor, of what level of concern is the fact that ron klain doesn't have a medical background? are you worried about that? >> i don't know if i'm so much worried about it. it's certainly an interesting choice, michael. and so he brings to the table a wealth of policy and political know-how. i think he knows how to work the bureaucratic challenges. the challenge that he has is that public health is an interaction with the federal government and state government and if he's going to be working on the mission in west africa as well, it's going to bring in the international component as well. you have to be comfortable operating in all of those spaces and have to have some degree of credibility in a lot of those spaces and you have to be able to build coalitions and coordinate those issues between all of those different moving functions. so i think that's what separates the issues of whether you're a good manager or whether you're a good operations person.

because really what i think this position needs is somebody who understands operations. >> let me show you, doctor, an example of the criticisms that has come to the administration and from ron klain. if we could put up andy harris who says, "worst ebola epidemic in world history and president obama puts a government bureaucrat with no health care experience in charge. is he serious?" >> he's an insider and can coordinate among the vast bureaucratic arms that are involved in the fight against ebola. >> correct. and if that is his primary role, i think he'll be very successful at it. he clearly understands the policy and the political angles. so i think if his right and left fence is contained within that, then he'll be successful. i think he's going to have a little bit of a learning curve

to understand how public health medicine i think he has some challenges but, again, a lot of people put in these positions have faced similar challenges and some have been very successful. >> dr. garza, are we putting too much emphasis on the federal response and not enough on the state response? i noted that on friday there were restrictions that were imposed on health care workers in texas who had had interactions with mr. duncan but they were imposed by the dallas county health department as well. it occurred to me that all of the conversation thus far has been on the feds. what if texas -- i'm not saying that they are -- but what if texas is deficient in handling ebola? >> well, this is an interesting case study in the division of powers between the federal government and the state government, especially as it applies to public health. and so from the concept of

federalism, it's installed in the constitution. the federal government has certain authorities and certain legislative issues that it deals with. the cdc, by and large, collects and distributes information and advice. but the police powers to execute and to protect the people and to do things like isolation and quarantine is really a state power. and the state designates that power through its authority. so the cdc, by and large, does not have the power that people think they do at the state level. the states inherently have that power. that's their legislative authority, is to issue quarantine orders. >> well, i'm glad i asked because it sounds to me like the state needs 51 different responses. dr. garza, thank you so much for your time. >> absolutely. thank you. my next guest does not think

that ron klain should be the ebola czar and has ideas about how to stop others from coming into this country with ebola. he's california chair of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman, explain to me the beef that you have with ron klain as the ebola czar. >> i think it's the right step to point a czar. the question i have, why not appoint someone with a background in public health or an understanding of infectious diseases because it seems to me that many of the mistakes have happened here because we haven't been focused on the expertise from those who really understand pathogens and can put together a plan that has everyone on the same page. >> what about the argument that what we really need is a manager, not a medical doctor, someone who is wired, who knows the bureaucracy and can get elements working in tandem? >> well, think for a moment. what we need is a manager who is a medical doctor and there are many of them.

there are many with a background, they came out of the military and understood pathogens or who are experts in this field who also have this experience in managing health care systems. i know some personally and it would seem to me that that would be the logical inference from that. i hope he's successful in this. i think it's a step in the right direction. >> congressman, you've asked secretary kerry to suspend the issuance of visas. >> well, issuing those visas in the past -- and i can think of a situation in 2009 when we had the h1n1 flu, so the decision was made to suspend the issuing

of those visas for a while, for three weeks. and one of the consulates. why? because we wanted to wait until that got under control. and so you've got a similar situation today where ebola is a problem, you have people taking flights and the question is, what can we do to contain the problem to west africa and treat it there? this seems to compound the problem in terms of containment. >> congressman, if we were to do that and if others were then to follow in our footsteps, what about the argument that says we're going to bring about the economic crippling of those nations, they won't be able to engage in congress the way that they do now and will put ourselves in a worst position because ebola will spiral even further out of control there? >> i don't know that that's necessarily the case because it seems to me that if you're talking about travel visas, tourism and so forth, people

from west africa, putting a hold on that for these three countries at this point in time, i don't think it's as crippling an impact as would be allowing this to continue and to have the spread of ebola into -- on to planes potentially. it's because we don't -- the gestation period of this, frankly, is a longer period of time than can be easily screened for. so we have to develop some type of solution to these problems and screening and everything else and what i'm suggesting, since 100 people a day are coming in and asking for these visas and most of them are receiving these visas, put a temporary hold on that. put a stay on that. >> chairman royce, thank you for your time. >> thank you. a lot of ground to cover on today's program. tex texas health presbyterian sits two-thirds empty due to its

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with a smooth formula, free of flavors and colorants. so you get a closer feeling to natural teeth. new fixodent plus true feel. fixodent. and forget it. are u.s. hospitals ready to treat ebola? that question has been asked a lot but maybe it's not necessary. sure, they should each be prepared to diagnose ebola but why can't we treat ebola patients at specialized care centers? maybe because there's only four hospitals certified to treat ebola. what if there were a major ebola outbreak? i'm joined by national nurses united and dr. sanjay gupta, cnned chief medical correspondent. two nurses caring for an ebola patient in texas, both

contracted ebola. where and was the breakdown? among the nurses and the care they afforded or in the hospital administration? >> it was actually in the hands of the hospital administration for the breakdown and it wasn't communications. it was actually lack of preparation, lack of training and lack of practice with all of the protective equipment that would be needed to provide care for mr. duncan. >> dr. gupta, that doesn't bode well, then, for caring for other ebola patients should there be other ebola patients at hospitals across the country. what of my idea that the model instead should be of instead of instilling the ability to diagnose ebola but then to treat those patients at only a handful of select facilities. >> i can see where that would be appealing especially given what happened in dallas and i agree with deborah in terms of what happened in dallas. michael, a couple things to keep in mind. this becomes a question, first of all, if you're sending

patients from wherever they might arrive in the united states, they could arrive from anywhere, the question is, if you send that patient, then, to one of these four centers, what is the goal? what are you really trying to achieve there? are you doing it for the patient or are you doing it for the hospital? and i say that in the context of this. there is no specific treatment for ebola, right? there's no sort of magic wand or position that these places can offer. what they can offer is their training in being able to contain ebola, in being able to contain the ebola virus and infecting other patients. you're really doing it to protect the hospital, the initial hospital where the patient arrived. so can those hospitals come up to snuff and be able to isolate patients just as the doctors without borders have been able to do in really remote and rural areas in africa. they've been able to do it in sort of these tent field hospitals in tough spots. i've been there myself. and if what you're saying is

true, that means big hospitals in the united states can't do what they did over there. i hear why that's become sort of the mantra and i hear what happened in dallas, this is a crisis of faith. but i just don't know going forward that we have to immediately surrender and say that all of these patients can only be treated at one of these four places. >> deborah, you have nursing expertise. go ahead and react to dr. gupta. >> well, i agree with i am had. the reality is, patients don't know that there's a center of excellence in emory or nebraska. these patients are going to be presenting in our hospitals and maybe in our other health care facilities. so we actually need the education, training and proper equipment to be able to handle tho those patients and handle them properly if we're giving the proper drills and practice and confidence to be able to implement those safety measures. >> dr. gupta, can we talk

transparency or lack thereof? at what point does the public right to know take control of these situations to the exclusion or detriment detrimen patient's right to privacy? >> i think this notion that it's mutually exclusive, i think you can still release enough information to the public without completely violating the patient's privacy. there are lessons to be learned in dallas and some of those lessons are going to be released. some already have been released. so, yeah, i think that -- look, what deborah is saying, the missteps in dallas with, you know, not just the guidelines being difficult to follow because the protective gear was not available to these nurses, it's crazy the stories that i've

heard. frankly, even some of the guidelines provided by the cdc, when i looked at some of those guidelines, even if you followed them to a t, they wouldn't protect the health care workers taking care of these patients so intensively. there's a lot to be learned there and you have to be transferred. you have to release that information. you have to be honest about your mistakes otherwise they will be in the same boat that dallas was. >> debra, has the issue with respect to the cdc guidelines been fixed? >> i don't think they have been. we're asking president obama to give authority to the new ebola czar and to the cdc to make these guidelines mandatory. as we've seen in dallas, texas, and we continue to see in all of our hospitals, they are merely

guidelines. we know we can handle this if we're given the support and mandates and the penalties to fine the hospitals if they don't do what they need. >> thank you both. >> thank you. i need to take a quick break. when we come back, are you scared about ebola? most people are and the question is, is that our fault? meaning, cnn's fault, the media's fault? we'll take a look at this issue when we come back. to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. this is called non-24, a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70 percent of people who are totally blind. talk to your doctor about your symptoms and learn more by calling 844-824-2424. or visit your24info.com. don't let non-24 get in the way of your pursuit of happiness.

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when a big news story breaks, the media has a job to do. report the story, tell you information that you need to know. but what happens when it's a scary story, even terrifying, full of conflicting information that confuses people? that's the moment when the media really needs to step up to the plate. but have we? joining me now to talk about this issue, director of the school of media and public affairs at george washington universi university and "the new york times" columnist. frank says, no, i feel conflicted because during my day job i've been very critical of the massive coverage of this issue and now i find myself devoting a whole hour to it. the point is, it's hard to strike the right balance. >> it's hard to strike the right balance but it's not impossible. first of all, this is a real

story and people are really wondering about it, scared about it, asking a lot of questions. i had somebody ask me today whether they thought they should send their kid to school in the suburbs of virginia because there's so many diplomats around here, are they wondering whether there's a child who has come into contact with somebody who has been in an infected part of africa. people are asking these questions and the role of the media is to answer them. it's a global story, a medical story, a political story, as we know. the problem is where we hyperventilate. it's so easy to hyperventilate. that's when we lose our way and lose perspective on this. >> frank, you wrote, i thought, a terrific piece on ebola. you said "on matters exotic we're rapt." explain. >> what i meant by that is we're talking so much about ebola and people are very concerned about

their personal safety and we have more questions than answers when it comes to this virus and disease. we have many things in our health that we can control. we have many answers about things that we ignore all the time. we still have people who are smoking. we drink more than we should. we don't wear sunscreens and the 10,000 skin deaths each year. with ebola, we don't know what we're dealing with but at this point we know that people are for the in imminent danger. if we want to be concerned about our health, why don't we focus for the moment until we get answers on those things that we can control. >> frank, respond to that. it makes a lot of sense. >> yeah, we should get the kids vaccinated and more people die from the flu than from this disease here. but here's the big difference. what is news? news is that which is unusual, significant and different. we've been living with the flu

for forever. this is something new and unexpected. it also seems to be, to some extent, uncontrollable, at least certainly in africa and that's where a lot more focus should be, in my view. and so until and unless some of these questions are answered and until and unless the fear that's out there widely in the public is addressed, it remains a big story and the media has a big responsibility to address it. >> frank bruni, i know many people interpreted your piece of an indictment of the media. that's not the way i saw it. i saw it as an assessment of the american people. a woman called my radio show and said i think we should all begin wearing surgical masks and gloves when we use mass transit and my response was, well, then everybody is going to do it. she said, wouldn't that be an appropriate response? >> i'm not indicting the media. i do think in certain corners, there's been an excess of

attention. i think you used the word incessant or i heard it somewhere. i think it's been sometimes insays sai inappropria inappropriate incessant. there's another story that the media is covering, which is the institutional error that has crept in. the cdc is admitting pretty profound mistakes. the texas hospital is admitting pretty profound mistakes. i think we need to be all over that because moving forward, whether we're talking about this disease or something else, we need to learn from those mistakes. >> frank sesno, you said this for 21 years, you were on this side of the camera. if you were doing it today, your mantra or approach would be what? >> it would be just to do what frank is talking about, to use this as a teaching moment and to

do it i would hope with a degree of perspective and a degree of caution as to what this is really all about. people need to put this into perspective. look, i think -- frank, i think your column is brilliant because we can't have a grown-up conversation in this country about things we know the risks about, whether it's, as you say, seat belts or safe sex or guns and so what we in the media and what we in the country need to do -- and i would try to incorporate that into the coverage, too -- would be to be a little better about how do we assess risk? how do we decide where we're going to pay attention and where we're going to learn and focus our energies? right now it's all on this. there's a lot of blame to go around on these other issues that steal a lot of lives every year in this country and around the world. >> gentlemen, thank you. frank bc frank bruni, frank sesno, thank

you. when we come back, will this ebola virus affect who will be in the senate for the next two years? we'll talk about what the insiders have to say about that. works differently to lower blood sugar? imagine, loving your numbers. introducing once-daily invokana®. it's the first of a new kind of prescription medicine that's used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. invokana® is a once-daily pill that works around the clock to help lower a1c. here's how: the kidneys allow sugar to be absorbed back into the body. invokana® reduces the amount of sugar allowed back in, and sends some sugar out through the process of urination. and while it's not for weight loss, it may help you lose some weight. invokana® can cause important side effects, including dehydration, which may cause some people to have loss

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trying to talk about the spending cuts. look at this, from the progressive group action fund. >> washington actually can cut spending. >> the cdc says its discretionary funding has been cut by 585 million since 2010. >> cut. >> cut. >> our budget has been flat since 2003 responding to an emerging infectious disease threat, this is technically damaging. >> cut. >> that was the left hook. the right hook was the sequestration. >> the nih saw their budget cut by 446 million. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> cut. >> make a cut.

>> they got a freebie from us. using a frightening and deadly virus to win a race? let's talk about this with a democratic strategist and a republican strategist of the blaze. tara, you get to respond. >> republicans cannot cut anything when there's a democrat in the white house. president obama signed every single one of those budgets that they allegedly think cut and they are referring to sequestration which the president suggested, to begin with, and that was what effectively cut what they are calling here. so they can thank president obama for that but then they also don't tell you that the cdc budget increased 8.2% and went to 6.9 billion, more than the white house actually asked for. so that is a complete lie, completely disingenuous and shame on them. >> ellis, is this the death knell of the control of the

senate by the democrats because it's all unfolding on the president's watch? we know we hold accountable he who sits in office at a time like this. >> first of all, let's take a look, this is such a delicate election and such a close race that truly anything could tip it. karl rove's hair could throw this in one direction or the other. so, yes, anything could matter when issues are divided like they are. that said, that's a very effective ad. >> but it's a lot. >> most people understand that republicans are the ones who want to shut down the government, want to keep cutting and do you really trust those people to run these agencies? that's an effective argument. >> doesn't the appointment on friday of a czar to control the outbreak -- >> good step. >> but is it an acknowledgement, it's not going well so far. we don't have an acting surgeon

general. isn't that an admission? >> presidents get unfair blame when things don't go well and in the end this is the case that democrats need to make. in the end, who do you really trust to deal with this? you want those people who are creating panic and trying to turn a smaller situation into a larger? or do you want to have the grownups? that's the cdc. >> the cdc? i think if democrats run on that, they will lose for sure. they are not in good shape anyway. "the new york times" said there was 74% chance that the republicans will take over the senate. so they don't need any more help that will push them over the edge. if you're going to examine the government's response, the american people are not stupid. not having a travel restriction right away, the way that the cdc director has given inconsistent

information throughout this whole thing is not commonsense and the american people are saying, who is in charge here? it's certainly not the president or anyone else. and nominating a czar to something that we already have positions for, there's a whole department that the health and human services has dedicated to this and appoint a political hack lawyer who has no experience whatsoever in the infectious diseases to be a ebola czar is not going to quiet the fears of the american people. >> i'll give you the final word but i feel like a knuckle head because a year ago i opined this would be a referendum on the affordable care act. there really isn't a dominant issue. but this plays into the general feeling, i think, that americans have, many americans that it's not going well. whatever it is, it's not going well. >> there are a lot of challenges around the globe. here's a couple of facts. >> the final word. >> this was a private hospital with nonunion nurses, a

government that has done squat on this issue. if you're being looking for blame, whoever is the czar of the ebola ought to be 17th on the list. this is our failed health system that has caused the biggest issues here and the best hope that we have, tara, is the grownups at the cdc. >> that's insane. >> you have to agree. >> no, i don't agree. >> that's what failed this guy. >> no, it's the u.s. embassy giving this guy a travel visa to come to this country. >> take it outside. tara, ellis, thank you both so much. after the break, what is the situation on the ground in liberia? i'll talk to a retired general of the army. and if airliners are infected with the ebola virus, are there protocols to clean those jets? we'll get the answer from one of the top experts in aviation.

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you know, the ebola crisis in this country could be stopped a world away in liberia where the virus rages out of control which is why we have 500 troops on the ground there and several more thousand preparing to go. but what exactly is our mission there? what do we need to do to stop ebola at the source? i'm joined by retired general mark hertling, former commanding general in u.s. army and seventh army. general, what's the mission? >> well, michael, the mission is primarily to set up facilities. this is a war-torn country. they just ended a civil war in

2003. they have almost zero medical capability. they probably have one or two doctors per 60, 70,000 people. they have no medical facilities, no labs. so i think general williams, part of the mission, is going to help build the facilities, not engage with the patients. so he's contributing to trying to stamp out this disease by helping the republic of liberia. >> some might think we're sending physicians but that's not what this is about. >> not at all. these are some engineers, medical testing soldiers who can do medical testing and actually aviators to help move around the country. so this is primarily support operations and construction operations to help the liberian government. >> how do we keep our men and women safe so they are not themselves infected? >> well, michael, i haven't --

having been on several humanitarian missions myself, soldiers are the best people to train. they are very adaptable. taking a temperature eight times in a day, soldiers can take orders very well and very disciplined in their approach to things. so when we set out procedures and a training model to help them do things to avoid contact with stricken patients, they are the best ones to do it but there are going to be uniformed services from hhs that are going to be there contributing to some of these hospitals. >> independent of this relief effort, the humanitarian work that you're describing, what presence do we have in these infected nations in west africa? >> well, a few years ago, michael, africom, african command was established. rodriguez commands that now.

general williams, the component of africom is part of that command. they help them to establish their own militaries and good government. that's part of the engagement method that we have in the united states military and it's so critically important to building coalitions and alliances and helping keep security in various regions in the world. >> general mark hertling, thank you, as always, for being here. >> thank you, mike. when we come back, what are the rules for cleaning airplanes or in the case of possible ebola, contamination? what needs to be done to make jets safe again for passengers? we're back in a moem. of a new engine. painstakingly engineered without compromise. to be more powerful... and, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. an extravagance reserved for the privileged few. until now. hey josh! new jetta? yeah. introducing lots of new.

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. the cdc is reaching out to up to 800 passengers onboard a flight that amber vinson traveled on, plus, five other trips taken by the plane before the airline removed it from service. cdc believes that vinson may have developed ebola symptoms earlier than first believed and although they call the risk to other passengers extremely low, the cdc wants to check on them, nonetheless. so what happens if there's a potential ebola exposure aboard airliners? can those planes be properly cleaned? mary schiavo is joining us. does that seem like an appropriate response, to reach out to 800 passengers? >> i think it's a response that they have to do. they have to let it know what has occurred and this is one of the reasons that the travel ban

for persons exposed is going to make sense. this multip multiply. but i this i people have to be notified. and it also makes sense in the long run because if those people don't monitor themselves and become ill then we've only exacerbated the problem. even more people to track. >> are you supportive of a travel ban being imposed on that he has west african nations? >> absolutely. the numbers and disruption. you know, there are two parts to a travel ban. everybody says low risk of getting sick but it is also highly disrupt ito tive to the states and if unctioning of the united states of america. as we've seen with just one person, how many people trying to track down it gets clo s cla thousand. if we're eleave our borders and don't have any restrictions on non essential travel, obviously we will be a country of choice for that. and if one person causes us to

hunt for a thousand. think of the numbers. we should have travel ban. and the u.s. has already announced we're going to do transport with military flights. >> i flew cross-country and back. i was paying particular attention to on going passengers in a way i otherwise wouldn't. and what occurred to me it seems we are no longer in the era where you would be ready to board and you no longer have to wait for the crew and the clean on. as soon as the other passengers get off, the new passengers get on the plane. i guess i'm worried generally about the cleanliness of aircraft. and now comes this. what is your thought. >> we have a right to be worried. because there are no federal aviation regulations about

cleaning a plane. people are surprised by that. not one regulation says you have to disinfect the tray tables and there isn't anything that covers that because the federal aviation regulations cover air safety and security. they have health issues to the local health departments and they don't really touch the airlines so it is a huge gap and they leave it to the discretion of the airlines. >> the final question. i'm concerned about the airline industry generally. not just frontier but i worry all this conversation is going to cause people who can make a choice as to whether to fly not to fly and there in harm the industry. your thought? >> i think you are exactly right. and that is why of all things, the travel restrictions on persons exposed to ebola and from those countries would help the business of american and the travel industry. because people would have more confidence that they would not be seated near someone who has been exposed who had come from

those countries. and i think the travel ban is restrictions are essential to keep america working as the united states does. and without them i think the system will simply shut down. and i think it already has. people are making other choices. >> thank you. wii appreciate you. >> thank you. >> up next my position on media coverage of the ebola scare. ♪ who's going to do it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone.

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here is one last thought. people in the united states are worried about ebola at a electrophile not supported by the facts. this week an abc washington post pole found 65% of respondents said they were concerned there would be an outbreak in the united states and 40% were worried they or someone in the family would exposed. those numbers are best explained by incessant media coverage. not reality. ebola is a --. however it is not highly tra ll miscib miscible. ebola is a care givers disease and the only people that have contracted it on u.s. soil were care givers for a very sick patient with ebola.

in fact thomas duncan, the first person diagnosed with ebola had taken care of someone with ebola in liberia prior to entering the united states. so what needs to be done to stop the spread but also hold off a wave of panic? public health experts on both sides of the aisle agree the top priority is stopping the spread in africa. there those with symptoms often run away from hospitals they are ostracized and subject to violence. here we run towards hospitals because it is in our culture. sec swe have the public health infrastructure to stop the spread of ebola but we need to match that capability with proper messaging, communication and preparedness of the american people. but given the lack of understandable information that's been disseminated to the public about the virus, this growing concern from americans doesn't come as surprise. that takes leadership. and so far we haven'te ehaven't.

now ron claiklain, our new ebol czar. don't forget to follow me on twitter as long as you can spell smerconish. see you next week. good morning. so glad to have you with us. christi paul. >> victor blackwell. >> we're so glad to have you out here. listen, don't travel by plane, bus or train. >> that's a what texas is telling dozens of healthcare workers who came in contact with thomas duncan. a worker who may have handled back to duncan's --.

>> and there is a new point man in charge of the u.s. fight against ebola. >> in bethesda maryland, and akron ohio and dallas and aaron mcpike at the white house. >> a lot of republicans wondering why someone with no medical experience was named to this ebola czar position. >> christi that's right and you may remember ron klain from early 2009. the administration tapped him then to oversee stimulus funding that congress had just passed and now the white house is referring to klain as an implengs expert. implementation. after weeks of dealing with ebola. president obama caved to critics anointing a e biel czar long term adviser ron klain to