Obama dings Chris Christie on Ebola response: 'We don't just react based on our fears'

President Obama on Tuesday called for a "prudent" response to Ebola in the United States, a veiled rebuke of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has ridiculed the federal government's handling of the issue.

"We don't want to discourage our health care workers from going to the front line and dealing with this in an effective way," Obama said, adding that his administration favors an approach that is "sensible, based in science, and tailored to the unique circumstances of each health worker."

"We don't just react based on our fears," he said. "We react based on facts and judgments."

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The White House and many health experts argue that mandatory quarantines — like those imposed in New Jersey and New York — have a chilling effect on health care workers. However, Christie has staunchly defended his state's quarantine policy while claiming the feds won't take tougher action because "they don't want to admit that we were right and they were wrong." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) joined Christie last week in calling for mandatory quarantines, though he's since loosened his state's restrictions on returning aid workers.