James R. Carroll

WASHINGTON - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is worried that "political correctness" is hindering the U.S. response to the Ebola virus and suggested that the spread of the deadly disease could be more serious than the government is saying.

"It's a big mistake to underestimate the potential for problems here worldwide," Paul said. "I really think that it is being dominated by political correctness and because of political correctness we're not really making sound, rational, scientific decisions on this."

"...We should not underestimate the transmissibility of this," Paul, an ophthalmologist, said. "It's a big mistake to downplay it and act as if 'oh, this is not a big deal, we can control all this.' This could get beyond our control."

The potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate appeared on the radio program of conservative Laura Ingraham, who asked on her show "why did Obama let the Ebola virus into the United States?"

She accused the administration of making "false assurances" about the Ebola crisis, comparing it to the roll-out of Obamacare, the breakdown of security at the White House, and the emergence of the Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

On the broadcast, Paul said shutting down flights from Ebola-affected areas in Africa to the United States should be considered "a realistic option" to stop the disease's spread.

"You probably do want to limit travel," he said.

The senator questioned whether the administration should be sending American troops to help Africans contain the Ebola outbreak, suggesting the soldiers are being put at risk.

"You also have to be concerned about 3,000 soldiers getting back on a ship," he said. "Where is disease most transmittable? When you're in a very close confines on a ship. We all know about cruises and how they get these diarrhea viruses that are transmitted very easily and the whole ship gets sick. Can you imagine if a whole ship full of our soldiers gets Ebola?"