A Leaderless GOP Asks Obama to “Consider” Ebola Travel Ban

Perhaps in keeping with his self-proclaimed status as “Obama’s best friend,” or maybe thinking that the last thing the GOP should do before an election is show any real leadership from the one branch of government they actually do control, Republican House Speaker John Boehner stopped short of saying … well, much of anything in a statement directed at the White House today.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday said President Barack Obama should “absolutely consider” a travel ban to the West African countries experiencing an Ebola outbreak, after one patient died and two nurses became infected with the deadly disease inside the U.S.

Hopefully the White House will get back to him promptly, if for no other reason, to let Speaker Boehner know he forgot to say “please.”

“In a September 16 speech in Atlanta, President Obama said the ‘chances of an Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low.’ Since that time, several Americans have been diagnosed with the virus and untold more potentially exposed to it,” Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said in a statement. “A temporary ban on travel to the United States from countries afflicted with the virus is something that the president should absolutely consider along with any other appropriate actions as doubts about the security of our air travel systems grow.”