Ebola, Obama and the Secret Service

There are some people who persist in believing that ludicrousness belongs exclusively to developing countries, despite recurring evidence which shows the sometimes tragic as well as entertaining side of reality, just like in the movies. The United States is the perfect example of this.

There are two recent incidents worthy of any Mr. Bean, Sacha Baron Cohen or Woody Allen film. The first is the series of protection code violations involving the world’s most powerful man and his family; the second is the blunder committed by a medical team at a first-rate hospital in Texas, which, by the end of the day, ended up being the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States.

Although Julia Pierson was appointed director of the U.S. Secret Service to restore order and efficiency after the prostitution scandal involving a group of agents during President Obama’s visit to Columbia, her lengthy professional experience was of no use to the Secret Service. During a House of Representatives Committee hearing, Pierson’s facial expression was one of emotion and bewilderment. Her face said more than all the words she actually spoke, and of course, a few hours later, she broke down. She was faced with resignation.

A man carrying a knife jumped over the White House fence, which is under 24-hour sniper and alarm surveillance. Without being detected in any way whatsoever, he made it across the garden, entered the residence and threatened a civil servant a few steps away from the staircase leading to the presidential family’s rooms, after which he was brought down and apprehended. Just like in Hollywood’s best film studios.

The performances do not stop here, since The Washington Post revealed in yet another of its countless exclusives that three days earlier in Atlanta, an armed man with a criminal record — outsourced by a security team! — had entered an elevator with President Obama and recorded the entire thing on his cellphone. Again, just like in Hollywood.

The scene would have been perfect for a good movie, given that this “scoop” newspaper is no less than the one which kept the most powerful nation, along with the entire world, hanging in suspense with its impeccable series of reports by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two journalists who put an end to the presidency of an intelligent, well-prepared yet ethically corrupt man. Richard Nixon’s boundless corruption in advancing his own goals was brought to light, while the Post taught us about the colossal strength found in freedom of expression and the press. Nixon wanted to silence the press, but he could not. His resignation caused an uproar, leaving him one step away from being imprisoned.

In another “film,” a Liberian named Thomas Eric Duncan went to a hospital with fever and abdominal pain on Sept. 24, several days after arriving in Dallas, Texas. It was there that medical staff asked him whether he had recently traveled, and he replied that he had come from Africa. Notwithstanding that information, the medical staff merely prescribed some antibiotics and sent him back home, where he was in contact with relatives and friends. It is now estimated that between 70 and 80 people could have been exposed to the risk of contamination. Of course, the hospital authorities said afterward that on the one hand, the symptoms noted were not related to Ebola and on the other, the information on Duncan’s migratory history was not relayed to decision-makers. Just like in developing countries!

No one can deny that medicine in the United States is advanced. So what happened? Two days later, the patient was rushed to the same health care establishment, the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he was diagnosed with the terrible disease Ebola, and where he now remains in critical condition.* Was anyone else infected? No one knows, even though Governor Perry himself was quick to send reassuring messages to the public. There was some delay in taking measures to isolate Duncan as well as in taking other precautions regarding those who were in contact with him. This was much worse than in the movies!

*Editor’s note: Since this article was originally published, Thomas Duncan has died.