It's been incredibly disheartening to watch the political response to Ebola. I don't mean the "politicization" of Ebola—everything is political, and the public health failures to stop the spread of Ebola is definitely the Republican Party's fault. Instead, I'm talking about the full-throated praise for quarantines of medical health professionals who have done nothing wrong but are still punished for wanting to help sick people. I'm talking about the fact that both Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Scott Brown both supported quarantines for medical health professionals in a New Hampshire senatorial debate last night. I'm talking about the fact that Senator Rand Paul, who supporters praise for his unquestioning commitment to constitutional values, says he isn't sure whether quarantines violate habeas corpus, calling it "a complicated issue." With the midterm elections a handful of days away, no politician has the courage to stand up and call these quarantines out for being an example of the hive mind cowering in fear at something it doesn't understand.

Some politicians are not only cringing at the back of the crowd, they're trying to incite the crowd into a blind panic. Doktor Zoom at Wonkette notes that Maine Governor Paul LePage is issuing a "a first-rate mafia-style threat" toward Kaci Hickox, the nurse who bravely took a stand against Chris Christie in New Jersey and returned to her home in Maine. (This morning, a judge ruled that Maine could not quarantine Hickox, but politicians love shit-talking judges. I'd expect LePage to issue a moronic statement about this verdict any minute now.)

“Right now, she can come out of the house if she wants," LePage said. "But we can’t protect her when she does that. The reason there’s a police car there when she does that is to protect her more than anybody. ‘Cause the last thing I want is for her to get hurt.” LePage elaborated on his ominous concern. “At the same token, her behavior is really riling a lot of people up, and I can only do what I can do. And we’re trying to protect her, but she’s not acting as smart as she probably should.” (If you missed the breathless AP alerts yesterday, Hickox is guilty of going on a bike ride after testing negative for Ebola twice.) This is beyond irresponsible for an elected official, and is only the latest example why I would urge any Maine readers of Slog to vote for Mike Michaud in the gubernatorial election. Eliot Cutler may or may not be a worthwhile candidate, and Maine's tendency to elect independent politicians to office should be commended, but this election should be all about getting LePage out of office, before he can do any more damage.

Actually, I wasn't quite correct in the first paragraph. Not every politician is cowering at Ebola's feet in order to score political points. In the midst of all these politicians courting the votes of the uninformed by advocating fear and the truly reprehensible politicians actively inciting panic, there's one politician who has kept a level head through all this. President Obama is the only politician telling the truth about quarantines, and his approval ratings are in the toilet for it. Maybe we're getting the politicians we deserve, after all.