Obama steps up defense of his administration’s Ebola response

Reporting from Washington —  Standing with an Ebola survivor and doctors in white coats, President Obama declared Wednesday he was confident the U.S. would lead the way to eradicating the deadly virus, ramping up his public relations effort to defend his administration’s handling of the epidemic.

Obama’s remarks, his most choreographed event on the topic in weeks, were delivered in the East Room of the White House, a hall typically used for policy announcements and formal ceremonies. The president said his administration continued to improve training at hospitals and international coordination in the effort to defeat Ebola.

“It will get done,” Obama said, flanked by healthcare workers who had been or were going to West Africa.

Wednesday’s event seemed to mark an evolution of the White House public relations push. After weeks of unscripted reassurances, photo ops and hastily arranged briefings, Obama spoke at length, blending his defense of healthcare workers with an extended, campaign-friendly riff on American patriotism.

“When disease or disaster strikes anywhere in the world, the world calls us. And the reason they call us is because of the men and women like the ones who are here today,” Obama said. “It’s because of the determination and skill and dedication and patriotism of folks like this that I’m confident we will contain and ultimately snuff out this outbreak of Ebola, because that’s what we do.”

Obama’s message was partly an implied defense of Kaci Hickox, the nurse who was quarantined in a hospital tent for three days in New Jersey after her return from West Africa. Hickox promised Wednesday to defy a Maine order that she remain in quarantine at her home there while she is monitored for potential Ebola symptoms.

“There is no medical evidence that has been proposed or put forward by anyone that says Kaci is a risk,” said Hickox’s attorney, Steven Hyman, adding, “Kaci is a free individual, and how and when she acts is up to her.”

In an interview with NBC’s “Today” show, Hickox — the first person to be involuntarily quarantined by either New Jersey or New York as part of their policies to actively monitor returning aid workers who cared for Ebola patients in West Africa — pledged to go to court to have the 21-day observation period lifted.

Maine is ready to serve a court order to prevent her from going outside, the state’s health commissioner made clear at a news conference.

The White House has not directly criticized the state policies, but Obama touted more lenient federal guidelines as “based on science.” The White House has said long quarantines will discourage healthcare workers from volunteering on the front line of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

“When I hear people talking about American leadership and then are promoting policies that would avoid leadership and have us running in the opposite direction and hiding under the covers, it makes me a little frustrated. We’re at our best when we are standing up and taking responsibility,” he said before a group of healthcare workers, advocates and government officials.

Obama’s more aggressive approach isn’t likely to quiet his critics. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his quarantine policy as “common sense.”

“I don’t know when the White House is going to get around to admitting that and not giving us seven-minute lectures … and just get to work. And that’s what people want — they want their leaders to do things, and that’s why Republican governors and Democratic governors have taken the same step that I did and we’re happy,” Christie said.

Obama’s speech and its backdrop probably pleased his fellow Democrats, who for weeks have urged him to lead more visibly on the efforts to contain Ebola and to use the trappings of his office to their advantage.

Democrats fighting for their careers in an election less than a week away say they, not Obama, have borne the brunt of GOP critics who denounced the federal response as an example of incompetence at the top.

“It’s been feeding into a narrative that Republicans are pushing that Democrats don’t know how to govern,” said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist and former longtime Senate aide.

In past crises, Manley said, he’s seen the White House retreat to “the bunker,” ignoring or downplaying the controversy and hoping the trouble will pass, and he was happy to see a new approach.

“They understood that they couldn’t just try to ride out the 24-7 news cycle on this. They’ve tried to match it by getting the president out there to the extent they can,” he said.

Although his slouching popularity has limited Obama’s usefulness on the campaign trail, he can still help his party from Washington, Democrats on Capitol Hill and strategists noted.

“You help us most when you’re at your most presidential and showing you can keep the country safe,” said one party strategist familiar with the conversations, who would not be identified while detailing private discussions.

There are signs that the regular messaging from the White House has mitigated potential political damage. More than 60% of Americans believe the government should be doing more to prevent new Ebola cases and don’t believe local hospital workers have enough training, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows.

Still, Obama isn’t bearing all of the blame for such trouble. The poll shows that 49% of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the situation, while 41% disapprove — a notable improvement for the president over the last two weeks.

kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com

Times staff writer Matt Pearce in Los Angeles contributed to this report.