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ByJimKuhnhenn TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's com- mander in the fight against Ebola was expected to op- erate below the public ra- dar. But did that mean in- visible? Ron Klain has barely been seen, and a week be- fore midterm elections, Obama is pressing to dis- pel criticism that the gov- ernment can't manage the Ebola crisis. The White House's be- hind-the-scenes coordi- nation of the Ebola re- sponse is being severely tested, while the Pentagon and states like New York and New Jersey take pub- lic steps that are far firmer than federal guidelines. That's creating the appear- ance of a crazy quilt of Eb- ola measures. "The CDC is behind on this," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday. "Governors ultimately have responsibility to protect the public health of people within their borders." Some public health law experts say the government could have anticipated dif- ferences in approaches and acted sooner to estab- lish federal guidelines for states to follow. "What happened is the case showed up in New York and New Jersey, those two governors respond, knee jerk reaction, ... then you see the federal gov- ernment catch up to that a little bit," said James G. Hodge Jr., a professor of public health law at the Sandra Day O'Connor Col- lege of Law at Arizona State University. "It would have been more benefi- cial if CDC's guidance had come out, gosh, maybe a week or so ago." White House officials say Klain was brought in for his management skills and ability to coordinate the work of agencies that range from the Pentagon to the Department of Health and Human Services, leav- ing most of the talking to the public health doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Klain, who has been in the job since last Wednesday, has been dealing with the var- ious agencies of the govern- ment to streamline the fed- eral response. He has met virtually daily with Obama including a lengthy Sunday meeting with the adminis- tration's Ebola team. "The impact of his work is already being felt both here at the White House but across the government," Earnest said Tuesday. Obama has tried to place his own imprint on the gov- ernment's response, mak- ing sure photographers captured images of him meeting with the Ebola team and embracing Nina Pham, one of the Dallas nurses who recovered af- ter contracting the dis- ease. On Tuesday he called U.S. workers in West Africa and delivered a statement from the South Lawn be- fore leaving on a campaign trip to Wisconsin. "It's also important for the American people to re- mind themselves that only two people so far have con- tracted Ebola on American soil: the two Dallas nurses who treated a patient who contracted it in West Af- rica," Obama said. White House officials bristle at the suggestion that the administration has mismanaged the response. They have cited their reli- ance on science and best health practices for every decision they have made, and health professionals have said the CDC has so far acted prudently. Administration officials have raised concerns about the steps taken by New York and New Jersey while also arguing that those ac- tions have received out- sized attention. As for mea- sures taken by the Army to quarantine some troops re- turning from West Africa, the White House argues that is a special circum- stance that shouldn't ap- ply to civilians. "We're starting to see an emerging consensus from other states about the pol- icies that can be best im- plemented to protect their civilians," spokesman Ear- nest said. Without mentioning the New Jersey and New York policies, Obama himself said that restrictions that are too confining could dis- suade health care workers from volunteering to help fight Ebola in West Africa where an outbreak of the disease has killed thou- sands. "We've got to make sure that those workers who are willing and able and dedi- cated to go over there in a really tough job, that they're applauded, thanked and supported," Obama said. The White House de- fense of its management comes just a week before midterm elections. And while new polls show that seven out of 10 of those sur- veyed are confident that the federal government can prevent a national epi- demic of Ebola, more than half believe the govern- ment's ability to deal with the country's problems in general has gotten worse. CZAR RARELY SEEN Ebolaraisesmanagementquestions JACQUELYNMARTIN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Ebola coordinator Ron Klain listens as President Barack Obama speaks to the media about the government's Ebola response in the Oval Office of the White House. VADIM GHIRDA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Syrian Kurdish refugees from Kobani watch fighting across the border in Kobani from a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, Turkey, near the Turkey-Syria border, Sunday. By Bram Janssen The Associated Press IRBIL, IRAQ Thousands of cheering, flag-waving peo- ple gave a noisy send-off to a group of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga troops who left Tuesday for Turkey — the first step on their way to help their Syrian brethren fight Islamic extremists in the embattled border town of Kobani. The unprecedented mis- sion by the 150 fighters to help fellow Kurds in their battle with the Islamic State group came after An- kara agreed to allow the peshmerga cross into Syria via Turkey — although the Turkish prime minister re- iterated that his country would not be sending any ground forces of its own to Kobani. A U.S. State Department official confirmed that peshmerga fighters are on their way to Kobani but did not know when they were expected to arrive. The of- ficial spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be identi- fied in discussing the issue. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the BBC that sending the peshmerga was "the only way to help Ko- bani, since other countries don't want to use ground troops." The Islamic State group launched its offensive on Kobani and nearby Syrian villages in mid-September, killing more than 800 peo- ple, according to activists. The Sunni extremists cap- tured dozens of Kurdish vil- lages around Kobani and control parts of the town. More than 200,000 people have fled across the border into Turkey. The U.S. is leading a co- alition that has carried out dozens of airstrikes target- ing the militants in and around Kobani. The deployment of the 150 peshmerga fighters, who were authorized by the Iraqi Kurdish government to go to Kobani, underscores the sensitive political tensions in the region. Turkey's government views the Syrian Kurds de- fending Kobani as loyal to what Ankara regards as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. That group has waged a 30-year insurgency in Tur- key and is designated a ter- rorist group by the U.S. and NATO. Iraqi Kurds head to fight militants PESHMERGA FIGHTERS Thankyou! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. By David Espo The Associated Press WASHINGTON House Re- publicans rolled out late- campaign attack ads tying Democrats to an unpopular President Barack Obama on Tuesday as the chief execu- tive embarked on a round of travel to boost guberna- torial candidates in a half- dozen states. One week before election day, the television ad wars neared a crescendo in the battle for Senate control. In the area around Lou- isville, Kentucky, cam- paign officials said target voters could expect to see an average of 97 commer- cials related to the contest in the final week. The re- gion is ground zero in the race between Senate GOP Leader Mitch McCon- nell and Democratic chal- lenger Alison Lundergan Grimes. Republican hopes of cap- turing the Senate received a boost in Kansas, where the Tea Party Patriots Cit- izen Fund announced sup- port for embattled Sen. Pat Roberts in his race with in- dependent Greg Orman — after opposing the 78-year- old incumbent in the GOP primary. "We've been counting on you, Kansas. You're a Re- publican state, for goodness sakes!" exhorted Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, lending his tea party star power to the incumbent. Republicans must pick up six seats to gain a Sen- ate majority. They appear certain of at least three — in West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota — and there are nine other com- petitive races, including six for seats currently in Dem- ocratic hands. Not even Democrats claim they have a chance to win control of the House midway through Obama's second term, and Republi- cans angled for gains in ar- eas where the president ran well in 2012. The party's congressional committee unveiled ads in 11 races, and gave the presi- dent a featured role in most. "Under Barack Obama, West Virginia has lost 5,000 coal jobs," says one, target- ing Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall. "Send Obama a message. Defeat Ann Kirkpatrick," says a second, airing in Ar- izona. Obama's political itiner- ary through Election Day was strong evidence of the dilemma facing Democrats. The president has trav- eled sparingly this fall, buf- feted by poor approval rat- ings and a need to manage fears that an Ebola epi- demic ravaging West Africa could find its way to Ameri- can shores. Obama's travel plans for the next few days run to Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Rhode Island, Con- necticut and Pennsylvania. He won all six in 2012, and all host gubernatorial races this fall. 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