THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE NATION SINCE SWINE FLU:

The crisis is escalating just as people begin early voting in key states and the campaign for control of the Senate enters the final weeks, returning attention to an unpopular president right when Democrats least want that.

So Obama has been forced to claim ownership of the problem, balancing the tension between his own reluctance to play into the frenzy and the growing public demands that he take dramatic action to protect Americans from further exposure.

He took the unusual step of suspending his travel schedule for the past two days to stay at the White House, where he has consulted with congressional leaders, called foreign leaders and held lengthy meetings with his top advisers. He also authorized the Pentagon to send National Guard troops into West Africa. By Thursday night, in an acknowledgement of the pressure to step up his response, Obama suggested he might need to appoint an "Ebola czar."

"We are taking this seriously," Obama said in the Oval Office. "This is going to be something that is contained here."

But none of that has been enough for Republicans and even some Democrats, particularly those in close election fights, who say that he should take tougher steps ranging from firing the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to banning flights from some affected countries.

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