WASHINGTON (AP) — Tennessee elder statesman and former Senate Speaker Bill Frist is siding with President Obama in the debate over the usefulness of an ebola travel ban.
The Associated Press says GOP candidates see more opportunities in the public concern over the disease than in continuing to bash "Obamacare" in the midterm elections' final two weeks.
Scores of GOP candidates and a few Democrats are demanding restrictions on travel from African nations where ebola is present. Polls show wide public support.
President Barack Obama isn't going along. He says a ban would encourage travelers to circumvent containment efforts and then hide their recent whereabouts rather than submit to monitoring on U.S. soil.
Some prominent Republicans are supporting Obama's stance. They include surgeon and former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, and former health secretary Mike Leavitt.