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Pirate Smile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:06 PM
Original message
Wash Post - Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 03:08 PM by Pirate Smile
Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General



By Howard Kurtz
President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

Gupta has told administration officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is under way. He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer.

When reached for comment today, Gupta did not deny the account but declined to comment.

The offer followed a two-hour Chicago meeting in November with Obama, who said that Gupta could be the highest-profile surgeon general in history and would have an expanded role in providing health policy advice, the sources said. Gupta later spoke with Tom Daschle, Obama's White House health czar and nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, and other advisers to the president-elect.

The Michigan-born son of Indian and Pakistani parents, Gupta has always been drawn to health policy. He was a White House fellow in the late 1990s, writing speeches and crafting policy for Hillary Clinton. His appointment would give the administration a prominent official of Southwest Asian descent and a skilled television spokesman.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2009/01/06/obama_wants_journalist_for_sur.html?wprss=the-trail

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bluestateguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:08 PM
Response to Original message
1. Has he ever performed abortions?
Personally, I don't care. But that fact alone would sink his confirmation. I still get mad when I think about what was done to Dr. Henry Foster in 1995. Phil Gramm was running for president, and blocked his nomination as a way to curry favor with the fundamentalistwackos.
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rvablue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:39 PM
Response to Reply #1
39. Doubtful as he is a brain surgeon. n/t
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Avalon6 Donating Member (206 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:09 PM
Response to Original message
2. Journalist, Assistant Prof at Emory University, Chief Neurosurgeon at Grady Memorial...sounds good
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 03:11 PM by Avalon6
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Zodiak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:16 PM
Response to Reply #2
15. He is against Universal Health Care
...and he was caught on CNN spouting talking points that were not correct in the service of being against Universal Health Care.

You might think he is good because people have been greasing his skids and he has credentials. But the credentials mean nothing if he is not willing to make the changes this country needs.

And NO MORE TV personalities. They are as devoid of a soul as they are talent.
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Liberal_Stalwart71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:29 PM
Response to Reply #15
25. I remember his arguments with Michael Moore. He is against single payer healthcare
but so is Obama, isn't he? That was the one issue where Hillary was more progressive than he.
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Zodiak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #25
48. No, Obama is proposing something modest as a first measure
For future progress to be made. He has always implied that it was only a first step.

Gupta is simply for the status quo, the AMA, and big pharma (his former paymasters)...and will spout any lie in the service of preserving the status quo as he did for CNN for many years.

And I really do not care if Obama is for extermination of sick people or for everyone drinking from the fountain of youth.....getting in accordance with Obama's wishes does not determine whether I think it is a good pick or not. I am not ruled by a cult of personality, nor do I slavishly accept flawed policies because we need to extend some "give it a chance" courtesy.

Gupta is not a good choice for the reasons I mentioned...he will help fix nothing in his present incarnation.
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yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #48
54. The Obama cult of personality is making it difficult to discuss politics on DU
without being personally attacked. It's getting to be ridiculous.

This is message board for political discussion, and the president's political appointees would seem to be an appropriate topic.

If people's slavish adoration for the president make it impossible for them to stomach any disagreement with him whatsoever, why are they posting on a political message board?
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jesus_of_suburbia Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:02 PM
Response to Reply #54
60. So True!
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Liberal_Stalwart71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:16 PM
Response to Reply #54
67. I know. I support Obama 100% and worked tirelessly in VA even though
he wasn't my first choice, and I knew that he was not a liberal. Though I still support him, some of these appointments and his decisions are disappointing. Doesn't mean that I'm going to throw in the towel.
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #25
49. Hillary Clinton is also not for Single Payer Healthcare.
I don't want to see the rising of a myth.
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Liberal_Stalwart71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:17 PM
Response to Reply #49
68. She is for universal healthcare, isn't she? And I thought as a solution for that, she
was proposing a single health payer approach. If I'm wrong, I retract my post, but I remember her proposal being much more progressive than his, and he facing criticism primarily from the left for his proposal. He also couldn't articulate his plan very well when asked, so that may have also been part of it.
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blogslut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:09 PM
Response to Original message
3. I will believe it when it actually happens
Howard Kurtz...pfft!
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:10 PM
Response to Original message
4. Okay, a TV preacher to give the invocation, a TV doctor to be surgeon general..why not House for SG?
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Avalon6 Donating Member (206 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Are you an idiot?
He is an actual doctor, at least read his bio before criticizing.
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #7
9. Didn't say he wasn't. Didn't say I didn't like him. But living in DC near NIH and....
my mother worked for the surgeon general of the Army, makes me aware that there are a lot of folks better trained in management of medical issues.
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RichGirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:38 PM
Response to Reply #9
37. When you become president you can pick who you want!
Discussion is fine...that's what a site like this is for...but the constant nit picking and complaining is extremely tiresome.

Pick your battles...because when you finally have something with substance to complain about, nobody will listen.
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cali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #4
52. um. He's a very well respected neuro-surgeon
he doesn't just play one on TV.
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:50 PM
Response to Reply #52
80. Being a surgeon is nice, but that and being on television aren't the usual criteria for SG. nt
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:10 PM
Response to Original message
5. the best man for the job?
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:banghead:


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Freddie Stubbs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:13 PM
Response to Reply #5
11. The Surgeon General is more of a spokesperson
He is already high-profile and obviously very telegenic.

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cottonseed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 06:00 PM
Response to Reply #11
94. This is kind of the way I see it.
High profile when pushing health goals should be a good thing.
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gkhouston Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:17 PM
Response to Reply #5
89. I guess there weren't any veterinarians available. n/t
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SharonRB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:10 PM
Response to Original message
6. I like Sanjay
and he's a Michigan alum. Go Blue!
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Captain Hilts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. I don't dislike him, but there are a lot of folks with backgrounds in medical management, etc. nt
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olkaz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:32 PM
Response to Reply #6
31. Well, that settles it then.
I'd take his review of "Sicko" as pretty conclusive that he's not a good choice.

Plus I don't like UM, so that makes it easy for me.
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redstate_democrat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:12 PM
Response to Original message
10. Wow.
Ok. I never would have guessed him, but new things happen every day.
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Mojambo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:13 PM
Response to Original message
12. Not crazy about the pick, but I don't think SG really has much of an impact
It's a public relations post mostly.

Let the pretty boy celeb have it.
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BklynChick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:14 PM
Response to Original message
13. that seems like an odd choice.
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HeraldSquare212 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:15 PM
Response to Original message
14. Well at least he won't be on CNN all the time.
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Blue_Roses Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:20 PM
Response to Original message
16. I like this pick.
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Zodiak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:21 PM
Response to Original message
17. He is a known propagandist for CNN
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 03:21 PM by Zodiak Ironfist
Remember when he tried to go after Michael Moore about "fudging facts"?

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/10/michael-moore-smacks-wolf-blitzer-around-on-sicko-the-war-and/

This man is not on our side. He is simply a paid propagandist that knows only what his masters in the News Division tell him.

I do not support this, and would entreat Obama to go with a real doctor rather than a TV personality with a shaky record on impartiality who happens to have a medical degree.
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Lisa0825 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:22 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. I cant stand him. Terrible choice!
:mad:
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. yes, I remember it well
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Still Sensible Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #17
61. I'll probably get flamed, but here goes...
I watched the piece and I thought it was fair. The instances Gupta pointed out were things that Moore fudged. Thats okay, Moore's documentary was biased, so what it was meant to be. I would suggest had Gupta simply left all of Moore's assertions unchallenged I would be able to say he had "shaky" credibility. He wasn't credible to you because you want a single payer system and he does not seem to agree.

I think paid propegandist is a bit much. The guy is a well respected neurosurgeon. Does he have some biases because he came up through those ranks, no doubt.

Frankly, I wouldn't want an ideologically driven surgeon general even if it was a more liberal ideology to my liking. We had the counter with C. Everett Koop and are still paying for some of his shit.



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Zodiak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:26 PM
Response to Reply #61
74. Gupta quoted the Heritage foundation in his segment
Does that sound like he wanted to be unbiased?

He also did a segment arguing against the reimportation of drug from Canada....a major issue with Medicare reform and a big reason the program didn't work. Does that sound like even-handedness to you?

And no....he is not credible to me because he works for CNN and has reported in a skewed fashion in the past. It has nothing to do with ideology. If that were the case, ideology would have been the thrust of my argument.

One last thing....I do not appreciate the false equivalency argument between C. Everett Koop and "liberal candidate X". There is no proof that a liberal doctor would act like Koop, but I did present evidence that this TV doctor will act according to corporate wishes. Corporatism is an ideology, you know....centrism is NOT the absence of ideology...just an adherence to the D.C. consensus...you know, the thing that got us in this mess in the first place?

Gupta is simply a media-driven choice, and I would prefer actual substance and an independence from the corporate boardroom.
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Still Sensible Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #74
90. I understand your point, but
I would have to know what he quoted from the Heritage folks to figure out if it was accurate or not. Just because someone you disagree with says it, it doesn't mean it's a lie. Admittedly in their case they do skew everything far rightward, but I'd have to know the "facts" in question. I would no more throw out something they said (although understanding their bent I'd view it more critically) out of hand than I would unquestionably accept anything Michael Moore said, although ideologically speaking I'm much closwer to Morre than HF.

In the report I saw, for example, Gupta nitpicked a few places where I thought a credible person would say Moore was fudging, or at least only telling part of the story.
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Zodiak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 07:23 PM
Response to Reply #90
98. Without going to chase down quotes (which admittedly might take some time)
Do you not agree that the juxtaposition of a hit-piece against Moore's film right before an interview with Moore has the effect of casting doubt on the interviewee? How often is this done? Is this typical?

Just in doing the piece and running it before the interview, Gupta tipped his hand. He was serving somebody there if he was not serving himself.

OK...looked it up. Sorry I misread before....what Sanjay's right-wing think tank sin on that piece was that he used an "expert" that comes from the right to act as an impartial arbiter of fact. In fact, that guy (Keckley) was from a number of medical groups with an interest in the status quo, and he was a bigtime contributor to Republican Tommy Thompson. Sanjay failed to rveal any of this in his piece, and when Moore called him out on it, he lied and said that CNN checked the guy's background and he was only affiliated with Vanderbilt University.

So yeah, he lied on CNN to discredit Michael Moore, used a right-winger posing as an uninterested source, and admittedly participated in this editorial "all on his own"...conveniently to run right before Moore was on.

I do not trust him, and after more research, I am not sure I trust the way he represents facts.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:06 PM
Response to Reply #17
63. self delete.
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 04:06 PM by Bornaginhooligan
Wrong thread.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:22 PM
Response to Original message
19. I haven't seen a good reason why this would be a bad pick.
Keep in mind, I don't believe "he's not an anti-science woo woo who promotes the magical power of healing crystals" is a good reason why he would be a bad pick.
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:26 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. is, he wants to put cholesterol-lowering drugs in our drinking water, a good enough reason?
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:26 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. My goodness, he has a sense of humor.
Why won't somebody think of the children!
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yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #21
28. He was serious, and he was paid by the manufacturer to say so.
Gupta is a shill for Big Pharma. We might as well hire them to be surgeon general. Or let them take turns.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:31 PM
Response to Reply #28
29. No, he wasn't.
Sanjay Gupta has never seriously advocated putting anti-cholesterol medicine in the drinking water supply.

Kneejerk much?
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yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #29
51. As a matter of fact, he did. He promotes products that he's paid to promote all the time.
It's a statement of fact. Gupta is paid to promote medications by their manufacturers. That's what he does.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:53 PM
Response to Reply #51
53. No, he hasn't.
:shrug:
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:32 PM
Response to Reply #21
30. oh, that was a joke?
hilarious!
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:33 PM
Response to Reply #30
33. Want to know what's funnier?
Some rubes took him seriously.
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:35 PM
Response to Reply #33
35. you're right. nobody should take this guy seriously.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:37 PM
Response to Reply #35
36. And you should be?
Who did you want for Surgeon General? Jenny McCarthy?
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:40 PM
Response to Reply #36
40. I see, so Obama's only two choices were Sanjay Gupta or Jenny McCarthy.
In that context, Gupta makes sense.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:41 PM
Response to Reply #40
42. Have you got an actual problem with Gupta?
To repeat myself, believing in medicine is not an actual problem.
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eShirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:45 PM
Response to Reply #42
45. No, believing in medicine is not my problem with him.
I'd love to stay and continue our get-the-last-word-in contest, but I will refer you to other posts in this thread regarding Universal Health Care and Michael Moore if you are truly intersted in my problems with him.

Although I will conceed, if being a P.R./ educational mouthpiece is all the job entails, I don't see where he could do much damage.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #45
50. "I will refer you to other posts in this thread"
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 03:51 PM by Bornaginhooligan
Yeah, I saw the other posts in this thread. I didn't see any good reasons there.

There's the "lipitor in the water supply red herring." Ridiculous on its surface.

He's against universal health care, alledgedly. 1. The SG doesn't set that policy. 2. I've seen nothing that Gupta's views on socialized medicine is any different from Obama's.

Some pissing match between him and Michael Moore. And based on the link posted in this thread, both Gupta and Moore were right and wrong on several points, all trivial.

Now what it really seems to boil down to is the accusation that he's a "shill for Big Pharma." The sort of knee-jerk rhetoric that comes out the anti-vaccination nuts and the "HIV doesn't cause AIDS" kooks.
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Pirate Smile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:27 PM
Response to Reply #19
22. He certainly has experience in communications which seems to be primarily what the job does.
Educating the public on health issues. He seems like a good fit unless there are some big policy disagreements between him and Obama.
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leftstreet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #19
27. He's the Oprah of health care. Instead of light bulbs, we'll be buying drugs
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/310680_condor09.html

Gary Schwitzer, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Minnesota, is one of the country's leading authorities on what's right and wrong about health coverage in the media. He is publisher of healthnewsreview.orga Web site that critiques health journalism in print and on television.

Schwitzer says "too often personal medical opinion enters into television reports (by M.Ds. who double as television correspondents) in a dangerous way with a national platform."

For instance, he wrote a recent publisher's note about NBC medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman's overzealous approach to testing for breast cancer and colon cancer based on recent news about recurrence of those diseases in Elizabeth Edwards, the presidential candidate's wife, and Tony Snow, White House press secretary.

Schwitzer has taken Gupta to task on the same subject. He wrote a publisher's note questioning Gupta's urgings in a February 2006 CNN health special about men that called for more aggressive screening for heart and prostate diseases (by age and frequency) than is the standard set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force of doctors, public health officials and researchers.

"I think the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is the most balanced and unbiased source available," Schwitzer said.

He makes an insightful point: Let's not focus on whether a few handfuls of M.D.s are media brands with earning power.

Instead, consider if the doctor on your television screen is overstepping the evidence.

Another point from Schwitzer: Gupta and others don't tackle health policy matters such as 47 million Americans who are uninsured or problems with the Food and Drug Administration.

"They think medicine and not health," Schwitzer said. "They think delivery and not access."
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:35 PM
Response to Reply #27
34. The writer contradicts himself.
Schwitzer criticizes Gupta for promoting medicine and not well health, while just before criticizing Gupta for advocating more check-ups.
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leftstreet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:41 PM
Response to Reply #34
41. I didn't get that
He seemed to criticize him for "$elective" screenings.

:shrug:
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:27 PM
Response to Original message
23. I didn't understand this until I read...
...that he was voted one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" back in 2003.

:eyes:

Can't say I understand this pick. Sanjay's a great guy, I'm sure, but an "interest in public health" is not the same as experience.
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JayMusgrove Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #23
58. Exuse me, but If we wanted EXPERIENCE,
we would have elected John McCain!

The Surgeon General is more of a public policy figure than a seasoned administrator of a large health bureaucracy.

I think his "experience" is just fine since he is very familiar with and has written and spoken publicly upon the myriad of issues of public health in the US and the world. What more do you want?



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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:12 PM
Response to Reply #58
65. Someone whose CV doesn't include "media whore".
I'm sorry, but he's got no cred with me. I'd rather have a serious public health expert, rather than someone who just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Gupta's experience of medicine has been shaped by the short reports he's prepared for the corporate media, rather than real experience of medical care in this country. Furthermore, his training as a neurosurgeon means that he was removed from "real" medical practice long ago (as neurosurgery is so long a training program and so highly-specialized that it has been at least a decade since he has dealth with diabetes, heart disease, nutrition, etc. managment). How long will it take for the superficiality of his experience with these issues to become apparent?
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:24 PM
Response to Reply #65
72. You've got to be joking?
A neurosurgeon has superficial experience and has not dealt with diabetes, heart disease and nutrition? Wow, amazing.

You guys continue to amaze me.
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:29 PM
Response to Reply #72
75. Neurosurgeons usually do not manage those diseases.
They certainly deal with the aftermath, but not so much the management.
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:35 PM
Response to Reply #75
77. Managing those diseases like a FP doctor doesn't mean you have limited knowledge
A neurosurgeon could be important person for some diabetics. Many time those diseases are initially diagnosed when a patient presents to a neurosurgeon. There are many who wait for symptoms before going to a Family Practice doctor. Regardless of which stage the neurosugeon sees those patients his care is still vital.

Not liking him is one thing but don't denigrate his experience. He's probably forgotten more than most of us even know.

He is also still a neurosurgeon while he works at CNN.
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:46 PM
Response to Reply #77
79. Not to be nitpicky...
But a person with diabetes would present to a neurologist, assuming that it's peripheral neuropathy that you're thinking of. That's out of the realm of a neurosurgeon. I guess if the patient had a stroke, they may present to the neurosurgeon first.

In any case, his medical experience is really the secondary issue here. The biggest issue is that he's going to be the face of our country's public health and he has no obvious public health experience. I brought up the difference between neurosurgeons and primary care providers because PCP's are at least required to follow-up on public health issues because they directly impact how they will manage their patients. Neurosurgeons? Not so much.
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:58 PM
Response to Reply #79
84. Not to be nitpicky?
There are many neurologocal issues that diabetics face. Periphral neuropathy is not the only manifestation that can effect the nervous system.

"In any case" the point I'm trying to make is that you can't disqualify him because of his medical experience.

You're trying to put a square peg in a round hole. There are some PCP's that have less public health experience that Gupta has. He is not "just" a neurosurgeon.

You are assigning many more duties to this position that don't apply. This is a PR job.
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #84
86. PR job, yes. But isn't he also tasked with crafting the message...
...rather than just presenting it?

And does his record demonstrate that he has enough of a command of our nation's public health challenges to craft a meaningful message?

A position is only as meaningful as the person appointed to it. If you've got a PR guy as SG, then SG can be nothing more than PR. But if you've got a real public health expert in the spot, then perhaps it could become something more meaningful.
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:13 PM
Response to Reply #86
88. My opinion is that he is just presenting it
I thought the HHS Secy. was crafting policy and the head of the CDC was responsible for issues of public health. I don't remember anything substantive from the past SG's. I remember them doing commercials about exercising and to quit smoking, that's about it for me.

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Kurt_and_Hunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:29 PM
Response to Original message
24. This has to be a joke. Gupta is an anti universal health care shill
I like him on TV, but not as aprt of the government.
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gravity Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:32 PM
Response to Original message
32. Odd choice, but I have no reason to complain
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Phoebe Loosinhouse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:38 PM
Response to Original message
38. Instead of Doctor and fomer Governor Howard Dean?!!
Incredible. (I thought someone else had already been named as Surgeon General)
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rvablue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:43 PM
Response to Reply #38
44. I totally agree and for the first time I'm pissed at a pick. When are WE all going to speak up?
Because unless I hear straight from Dr. Dean's mouth that he wasn't interested, once again he has gotten the shaft.

Seriously, are even our memories on DU that short. Where in the hell would we REALLY be without the efforts of this courageous and smart man?

He was a necessary ingredient in the current rescue and resurgence of the Democratic Party and I WANT to see him included somewhere or I'm going to be more than disappointed.


Oy....off rant.
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Barack_America Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:13 PM
Response to Reply #38
66. Dean would have been a much, much stronger pick.
His resume suggests a much more impressive command of public health and medical practice issues.
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Avalon6 Donating Member (206 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:43 PM
Response to Original message
43. It's a sad day when the freepers make more sense than the people here
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cottonseed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #43
95. What part?
To: ClearCase_guy

Come on.
He received both his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System.

He’s assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Save the criticisms for where and on they should be. Pretty qualified (even if its for a usless job like SG)

Seems petty to go after him.

12 posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 12:00:55 PM by PurpleMan
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cottonseed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 06:03 PM
Response to Reply #95
96. misspost
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 06:12 PM by cottonseed
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moc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:47 PM
Response to Original message
46. What background/training does he have in public health?
Being an MD is not the same thing. Having an MD doesn't necessarily equip one to be the face of public health for this country.

I'm not saying he's not qualified. Just asking the question. As a public health professional myself, I think it's important to point out that medicine and public health are NOT synonymous.
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:55 PM
Response to Reply #46
55. He can see a free clinic from his penthouse window
I see dead fish.
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marimour Donating Member (696 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:19 PM
Response to Reply #46
69. Chief neurosurgeon of Grady Hospital.
Grady is THE public hospital in Atlanta and one of the best trauma /burn centers in the region. The fact that he is at Grady, which serves mostly, trauma, burn and people with no healthcare coverage/medicaid, instead of all of the private hospitals in the area says a lot to me about his character. Grady is always dealing with funding and budget issues and was in danger of closing for a while. He could get much more money somewhere else in Atlanta.
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ErinBerin84 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:48 PM
Response to Original message
47. freaking random.
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Avalux Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
56. Journalist AND neurosurgeon. Surgeon General is a PR job - it's a good pick.
I've read many of his articles and see no red flags.
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TEXASYANKEE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:01 PM
Response to Original message
57. I've read most of the replies, and I'm confused.
What exactly does the Surgeon General do? I wasn't aware that the SG set the health care policy -- isn't that up to H&HS (aka Daschle)? If the SG's role is to advocate for better health, then I think Gupta is a very good choice. He is articulate, media savvy, and very easy on the eyes. Personally, I hope he starts talking immediately about obesity, especially childhood obesity. This country needs a really good wake up call on how we are damaging our health. Gupta might be very good at dealing with such issues.
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moc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:05 PM
Response to Reply #57
62. The SG is the leading public health professional in the country.
Keep in mind, PH is NOT medicine. Public health is about prevention. Public health is about improving health at the population level, not treating acute illness at the individual level (i.e., clinical medicine). Many MDs have training in public health and have an appreciation for the role of public health in this country. Many do not, however. My question about Sanjay is does he even understand what PH is all about?

I'm a public health faculty member, btw.
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marimour Donating Member (696 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:21 PM
Response to Reply #62
70. it seems like thats what his segments/specials are about.
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 04:21 PM by marimour
He would be the perfect person to inform the public, he does a good job of it on CNN.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:23 PM
Response to Reply #70
71. I beleive that you missed the replier's point

His segments and specials inform on medicine not public health.


The point of public health is to reduce the need for medicine not promote it.
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moc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:33 PM
Response to Reply #71
76. Bingo! You get a star!
Thanks for helping me out, here. :hi: Many people don't understand the distinction between medicine and PH. In many ways, they are two different worlds (whether or not they should be is a whole 'nother discussion!).
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:39 PM
Response to Reply #71
78. Seems to be pretty well-rounded to me.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/gupta.sanjay.html

Covers medicine. Exercise. Diet. Emergency preparedness. And more.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:51 PM
Response to Reply #78
82. Well honestly he works for a company that has profited from immense

selling of advertisement of pharmaceutical products.


While he has done some on diet and exercise he has never run a special on how many people needlessly die from lack of access to health facilities nor have I ever seen him do a story about the dangers of over prescribing drugs or about the absurdity of mass advertising of drugs so that the public can go and tell their doctors what medicine they should be getting.

Having said that he is obviously intelligent and media smart.

Maybe he will be like Earl Warren and prove to be a real progressive voice once he gets a new position and a new agenda.

I found it informative that his primary concern about taking the position was the financial implications to his family. That hardly reflects the kind of public service position that you would want from the Surgeon General (also it is short cited on his part because his marketablility will sky rocket after he leaves office).


The proof will be in the pudding. We will see in what actions he takes in office. I trust Obama to have asked the right questions before offering him the job.
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:52 PM
Response to Reply #82
83. Did you just move the goal posts?
Yeesh.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #83
87. Yes I did
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 05:11 PM by grantcart
You didn't seem to be following the point of the mini thread going back to clarifying what was meant by reply #62 - that being a good doctor or a good medical reporter has nothing to do with being a highly qualified public health administrator.

Whether or not you agree with that proposition you would have to reply to #62.

My reply was simply to point out to the person replied to #62 that I think he missed the point. The author of #62 then replied that I understood his point perfectly and that the replier did in fact miss his narrowly defined point.

Your reply to my reply was completely off point and had nothing to do with the distinction between a medical reporter and a public health administrator - please see the author of # 62 for that. So my reply was a general answer to your off point response and a more general response to some of the comments you made up thread.

Sheesh.





edited to correct the reply number
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marimour Donating Member (696 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #71
93. his segments are not just about medicine.
Have you seen any of his segments on obesity issues?

Two nationwide “Fit Nation” tours have culminated in special long-form programs that revealed the hazards of obesity in children, “Fat Chance,” and the challenges in eating healthy in a culture and regulatory environment that makes processed food so prevalent in the American diet, “Danger: Poisoned Food.”


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Cash_thatswhatiwant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:02 PM
Response to Original message
59. I like that photo......:-x
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Norrin Radd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:07 PM
Response to Original message
64. For fuck's sake...
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Critters2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:25 PM
Response to Reply #64
73. Damn, that's exactly what I was gonna say! nt
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Norrin Radd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:50 PM
Response to Reply #73
81. Great minds
:fistbump:
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 04:59 PM
Response to Original message
85. I wish Mccain had won
Edited on Tue Jan-06-09 05:01 PM by ellacott
Some of you don't deserve a Dem. President.

I've never seen people whine so much about a Dem. President.

I have a feeling that most of you all haven't experienced much in your lives.
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bigwillq Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:18 PM
Response to Reply #85
91. Oh please.
I guess disagreeing is against the law now. :eyes:
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ellacott Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 05:21 PM
Response to Reply #91
92. oh please to you
Disagreeing and all this damn whining going on around here are 2 different things.
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cottonseed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-06-09 06:04 PM
Response to Original message
97. Quoting a Freeper
To: ClearCase_guy

Come on.
He received both his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System.

He’s assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Save the criticisms for where and on they should be. Pretty qualified (even if its for a usless job like SG)

Seems petty to go after him.

12 posted on Tuesday, January 06, 2009 12:00:55 PM by PurpleMan
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