At today's press briefing, CBS' Major Garrett pinned the White House down over exactly why the President's plans were canceled in order to accomodate a meeting about the Ebola crisis. Garrett cited a quote from the administration during the Ukraine crisis to make an outstanding point:

Garrett: Josh, couple of a months ago when the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over Ukraine. the President carried on with his campaign schedule. ... A member of the staff said "abrupt changes to the president's schedule could have unintended consequence of unduly alarming the American people or creating a false sense of crisis." Did you do that today?

BOOM. Garrett could have dropped the mic right there.

Earnest's rambling answer amounted to "no" and "the schedule did need to be changed so the President could fulfill his responsibilities." Which is, in fact, no answer at all. The member of his staff said an "abrupt change" could create a "false sense of crisis." The corollary to that is, of course, that if the President does make a change, then the sense of crisis is not false.

Major presses him even more, asking what in particular makes this crisis so extraordinary that it required a drastic change to the schedule. Earnest simply had no answer. In the end, he had to admit as much.

Major Garrett has hit on an important point that the President should address. If, as Earnest tried to suggest thoughout the briefing, there is nothing to worry about, then why did the President do something that is, in his own administration's words, drastic and indicative of a major crisis? It deserves an answer. A real answer.