Franken: ‘Nothing against’ Ebola travel ban

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Sunday that he has “nothing against” a travel ban from West African countries affected by Ebola, but it would not solve the problem. 

{mosads}Franken, speaking during a debate with GOP challenger Mike McFadden, also said a ban would be “insufficient” because most flights do not come directly from West Africa to the United States. 

McFadden supports a travel ban, as do Republican Senate candidates around the country, in what has become a major issue in campaigns. 

Democrats in close races, such as Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.) and Kay Hagan (N.C.) have come out in support of a travel ban.

Franken is not as vulnerable as those senators — he is up by double digits in the polls — but he is still not opposing a ban. 

Franken also said he was disappointed in President Obama. “I had high hopes when he came in,” he said. “I’ve been disappointed. I’ve been disappointed in his inability to deal with this gridlock. But I’ve also been disappointed in the gridlock that’s been created, especially by the Tea Party.”

There were attacks by Franken, too, as he hit McFadden, a former executive at the investment firm Lazard Middle Market, for layoffs during a restructuring of a company. Lazard took a reference to the restructuring off its website, after Franken starting running attack ads on it.

“If you’re a CEO and you don’t take responsibility for what your company does, what are you going to do as a senator?” Franken asked.