WH hands out White coats for Docs who forgot them for the photo-0p

[joeycola]

See WH photo at the link.




http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tricky_doctored_photo_kTVWHZ3vEeRQbxCC0TNZHN


WASHINGTON -- President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.

In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama.

A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama's pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress.


EPA
OOPS! A crowd of 150 doctors gathers in the Rose Garden to support the health-care overhaul -- as White House staffers scramble to hand out camera-ready white coats to those who forgot their own.
The physicians, all invited guests, were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image.

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.

So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Well, if it's in the NY Post, it HAS to be accurate, true, and without spin.

:eyes:

[tekisui]

41. ...and relevant.

:crazy:

This has to be the weakest 'attack' I have seen during the health care debate.

[jefferson_dem]

2. Matt Drudge and Rupert Murdoch thank you for promoting this red herring non-story.

:eyes:

[joeycola]

8. The money for those jackets could have bought some visits for people

in need.

[jefferson_dem]

11. Really? How much did they spend on a few white jackets?

Please tell me you are not serious... That you're getting ready to say "HaHa! I Punk'd you guys!"

[joeycola]

12. I am serious. It was an expensive and un-necessary photo op. Perhaps

if all sides were invited-including single payer-it would have been productive. That is--IF Obama would have had a good discussion with all instead of just repeating WH talking points.

[karynnj]

25. OMG

They likely were able to borrow them from a military hospital in DC. The fact is that photo ops have some real value. The fact is that they were all doctors, but in a photo that would not be obvious. The fact also is that the goal now is to help pass legislation that can be passed. This is NOT the time to restart the discussion with single payer - which Obama, Clinton and Edwards ALL opted NOT to run on.

As to cost, where is it coming from - I don't think they paid the doctors for their time or travel. It was a small amount of the President's time and the photographer comes with the job of President. The fact is that I did not see you questioning the expense for Hillary Clinton's silly - box with a red button with the wrong Russian word written in Latin letters rather than Cyrillic - which likely cost more in design and production. (not to mention any one of a certain age such have a negative connection between Russia and red button!)

If this were President Clinton, you would be extolling her brilliance in being shown in a sea of doctors.

[joeycola]

77. I am not willing to settle for 'any' legislation just to pass a bill. And

......Have a good day. The rest of your post is irrelevant.

[karynnj]

99. Yeah, you're holding out for single payer - though that won't happen

The fact is my post addressed YOUR comments on the expense.The fact is that if this were President Clinton, you would be proclaiming the brilliance of this rather ordinary PR effort.

[Dawgs]

27. "just repeating WH talking points"????

:wtf:

[TwilightGardener]

46. I know, that's a weird statement. Is the WH not supposed to have a message, now?

[joeycola]

48. As I listened I heard no new information. Perhaps you did??

[geek tragedy]

73. You're repeating Free Republic/Republican talking points.

Just in case you wonder why people don't fall for your 'I'm just criticizing him on principle' cover story.

[joeycola]

98. I do not visit that site so I would not know.

[Cha]

63. You're so interested in having the president fail that you can't

see anything beyond that.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

93. Not much. I'm required to have 2 lab coats for school. They're cheap.

[ieoeja]

106. "Woman! Your fine ointments! Brand new! And expensive! Could have been saved for the poor....

"Why has it been wasted?!?
"We could have raised! (maybe) Three hundred! pieces of silver or more!
"People! (who are hungry)
"People! (who are starving)
"Matter!
"More!
"Than your!
"Feet!
"And hair.........!"

[ieoeja]

107. For the record...

I did not intend this post as support for joeycola.

Nor am I suggesting that joeycola and joeybee are the same people. I am fairly certain the names and rightist propaganda posted by the two are pure coincidence.

[joeycola]

13. Your attempt at shuting down conversation with your post is a FAIL.

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. What conversation? You didn't contribute a word before jefferson_dem posted

you just copied what Murdoch's paper said, without any comment whatsoever. I hadn't the faintest idea why you thought it worthwhile starting a thread on this.

Later, you make it clear that you regard "WH talking points" as a bad thing, that even Obama shouldn't try to use himself, while repeating Murdoch talking points yourself - so presumably you regard Murdoch talking points as a Good Thing.

[joeycola]

49. Using that phase was not intended to be divisive. I simply meant

that there was nothing new in his press conference. I wish it had been a real discussion with lots of questions and responses.

No, I am not a Murdoch fan as you imply.

[Cha]

62. I don't care if you like murdoch or not ..you are a fan of Epic

Fail.

[joeycola]

74. Shows what you know *not much*. anyway, have a nice day.

[Cha]

80. Riiiight..What I KNOW is that you're always pushing

for an Obama failure and this..? This is just more stupid fodder for you from the nypost for criss sake! You and Drudge picked it up.

[tekisui]

42. See below: Conversation continues....

[a kennedy]

3. right, and this is from the NY Post.....

:thumbsdown: :puke:

[joeycola]

5. Who is handing out the white coats? Just asking.

[jefferson_dem]

10. That's it? That's all the right wing smear-merchants have to counter the message of reform?

The White House handed out a few lab coats to doctors? Good grief. I laughed out loud (literally) when I saw drudge had linked to this nonsense. To see it posted and defended here on DU is ... even more ridiculous.

[joeycola]

14. I do not visit his sites.

[rvablue]

33. Where did the Shrub get his flight suit from?

Because it looked like it was tailored for someone else.

[HereSince1628]

4. A Mad as Hell doc who crashed the photo op said similar things on Ed Schultz

yesterday.

[joeycola]

15. I missed his show but thanks for the post.

[Cha]

64. Oh good, he, the nypost, drudge, you, the

OP can all whine about it.

[NYC Liberal]

6. How is this "botched" as the Post claims?

If a bunch of people who were NOT doctors were there and given white coats to wear, then alright, there might be a story.

But all those people WERE doctors! So I don't get what's wrong here.

Quote

Underlying the strictly photo-op nature of the event, The Associated Press noted that Obama broke no new ground in his remarks.

Oh what a bunch of bullshit. What about the "strictly photo-op nature" of Bush "flying" that jet and showing up on the aircraft carrier in his soldier costume (complete with codpiece)?

[karynnj]

28. But there was a difference between Bush's event and Obama's

To be like Bush's, Obama would have had to surprise the press by coming out in a White lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck. I doubt the media would have then assumed that Obama was as qualified a doctor as they pretended Bush was a qualified pilot. (I would bet that that coverage likely confused enough people that had a quiz been given on which 2004 candidate was a very qualified pilot, the wrong candidate would have been selected by a land slide as the answer.)

[NYC Liberal]

44. Yup, that's the correct analogy. Not that the media cares.

They want a story.

It's like in 2004 how Bush, a man who went AWOL, actually went around disparaging the actual, decorated Vietnam War hero, Sen. Kerry. And the media lapped it up and gave us endless coverage of the Swiftliars with no word on how they were lying through and through. The media just wants ratings. I remember back when Michael Moore was on CNN being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer about Sicko. MM was talking about how CNN is sponsored by all these pharmaceutical companies, and Wolfie said "Well, this IS a business you know." Very telling. The media considers what they do "business" first. Sure they have to worry about profit and rating and such in order to stay on the air. But they ought to be news organizations FIRST, businesses second.

[karynnj]

50. True the media as a whole was negligent or complict in a character assassination

Kerry had the entire official Navy record, except medical reports - which he had open to the media for a week - on his website. I first thought to actually read them when someone on the Kerry/Edwards blog pointed out that they were all on the website and that they were interesting when they used them to answer a fairly uninteresting question - what color eyes does he have. It was very easy to see that all the fitness reports were there - as they spanned the interval. They also were filled with praise and contained nothing that could be seen as negative. One very consistent comment throughout the nearly 4 years was that his subordinates were intensely loyal to him and each other. Another was that in several positions, he was assigned extra duties because they recognized his ability and talents. (one showed he was seen as having the people skills and empathy to help sailors having problems)

The sad thing is that these fitness reports, not only disproved the SBVT, they also countered the Republican definition of Kerry as aloof and standoffish. There were no gaps - covered only by - say a dental record as for Bush - and there was nothing like - say, losing flying privileges as for Bush. It was a record of praise and good marks. In addition, he left Vietnam to become an aide to an admiral in Brooklyn. In the records on the website, was one that said he had been approved for the HIGHER security clearance needed for the job. Nothing says so - but I assume his current line of command (including SBVT) had to request it. No one in the media asked whether this and the praise (including suggesting accelerated promotion) was the truth. What would lying on such forms mean?

The fact is the media did not ask the SBVT for one scintilla of proof even though their charges were night and day from the official record. From the secret tapes, Nixon investigated him in 1971 - and, dirty trickster he was - he accepted that Kerry was a war hero and had a clean record. Just those two things should have caused the media to expose the SBVT for what they were. The Kerry team proved they shared donors and a lawyer (who ended up as an MSNBC talking head).

[hileeopnyn8d]

65. Ugh

Reading that makes me so incredibly sad.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

90. The election of 2004...everytime I think about it, I'm gobsmacked.

How they painted a war hero...a guy who volunteered for one of the most dangerous positions too...as an anti-American and portrayed the asshole who used his father's wealth to weasel out of serving overseas as a hero will never ever sit right with me.

[karynnj]

96. It even hit me recently, at a hearing on Afghanistan

when Kerry soberly spoke of the obligation to get the policy right for the guys fighting - something not done in Vietnam. For the first time, I realized a profound different side to his famous question - that maybe because I didn't know many people who served well - I completely missed. He was implicitly accepting that he, although he would naturally prefer otherwise, he was willing to die for his country - and that this is something that is true of all who volunteer. Even after he went, he told the SFRC in 1971 in the questioning that he would be prepared to fight to defend the US if that were needed. For me, I still can't easily conceive of that kind of patriotism, especially when he had been given so much. He is a real patriot and public servant.

The fact is that Kerry had the connections that if he had chosen to use them, would have gotten him out of the military or even simply out of going to Vietnam. He after all was the roommate of one of McGeorge Bundy's nephews and had dated Jackie Kennedy's stepsister in late high school early college. (It likely would have actually been easier for him than for Cheney or Clinton)

[LisaM]

70. That's an excellent analogy

That said, I'm a bit disappointed that we are continuing Bush-era photo op moments. They're childish and I thought they were over. The main thing I want to see gone are those horrible backdrops with the message of the day on them.

[Cha]

67. And, coming from the notorious AP..who cares what they

have to write about anything?

[BeyondGeography]

7. Trolling for NY Post clips to try and make Obama look bad

Awesome.

[joeycola]

9. Give it up. I am not trolling.

[ProSense]

54. Yes, you are. n/t

[joeycola]

59. you are wrong also. Have a good day.

[geek tragedy]

75. The non-trolls agree unanimously: you are trolling.

The only people agreeing with you are other trolls and PUMAs.

[jefferson_dem]

84. Obviously something's going on here - and it's NOT about the substance of the NewsCorp hit piece.

I think this thread has served as an outing opportunity for some resident ... "troublemakers".

[Kaleko]

105. OP has violated the 11th commandment.

"Thou shalt not suck."

Even non-Christians are beginning to be perturbed.

[JTFrog]

78. And there is nothing subtle about it.

Consistent... but not subtle.

[ShortnFiery]

16. President Obama, et. al., are in the process of doing THAT - looking bad - THEMSELVES. eom

[BeyondGeography]

17. Ooh, look at those two responses

Debbie, meet Downer.

[Jennicut]

26. LOL.

Not saying another word.

[joeycola]

18. Yes, I think the WH advisors blew it on this one.

[hileeopnyn8d]

23. Well there's a surprise!

You think that about EVERYTHING.

[rvablue]

37. Why do you feel the need to parrot the points outlined in your OP.

We got it.

Stupid non issue. And the perfect RW echo chamber smear to distract everyone from the fact that people are DYING every day due to lack of health coverage.

Glad these docs -- with borrowed lab coats or not -- are on our side. Unlike a few disgusting greedy bastards -- like the doctor down in Florida who spam emailed an image of the President dressed up as a witch doctor!

[Cha]

66. That's means they didn't then..bc you just push for fail.

And, it has the opposite effect.

[Cha]

68. He'll never run out of

material.

[BeyondGeography]

71. I know...just look at him

[skipos]

19. I am OUTRAGED

IMPEACH HIM NOW!!!1!11

This is the biggest non-story I have read since the primaries.

[quantass]

20. Why the fuss...makes perfect sense to me...Image is everything. nt

[Captain Hilts]

21. That's funny, as younger doctors don't wear them because of germs. nt

[lynne]

22. Handed out or not, the lab coats in the Rose Garden did look odd -

- and made the event appear to be only a photo op. Let's face it, doctor's don't wear lab coats in public and they certainly wouldn't wear one to the White House. Personally, I thought it a bit much and took the focus off the event itself and onto the lab coats. It reminded me of Bush's Iraq fake turkey Thanksgiving photo op - a comparison I don't think that anyone would want.

[NYCGirl]

35. The only way this would be reminiscent of the fake turkey photo op is if these

were not real doctors.

[Cha]

69. You're comparing a fake turkey to real doctors?

Give me a break.

[dionysus]

24. um, ok. elevens?11!

:shrug:

[rvablue]

29. At leasT they were real doctors and actually save lives. They forgot their coats

big deal.

At least, they didn't play dress up on an aircraft carrier and announce "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" 7 plus years too early!

[TwilightGardener]

30. It IS a photo op. And... so? Politics, especially Presidential politics, is theater.

[tekisui]

31. This is the latest poutrage?

LOL! Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel here. Of course it was a photo-op. That was the whole point. Images work, you have to manage the image. The white jackets, together, make the point and the photo stronger. Seriously, if this outrages anyone they are looking for a reason to oppose Obama.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.:eyes:

[JohnnyLib2]

32. I thought the photo op was inept, unrealistic.

Damn it, anyway.

[rvablue]

40. While I don't agree, "inept" could be used to describe it. "Unrealistic" -- NO!

Because they were all real doctors.

They weren't playing dress up.

[BklnDem75]

34. What!?! I can't believe this!!!

Of all the dirty, lowdown... :boring:

[NYCGirl]

38. Wake up! The OP is trying to manufacture some outrage!

LOL!

[NYCGirl]

39. Duplicate. Sorry.

[Clio the Leo]

43. Well DUH.....

.... no one actually thought EVERYONE showed up in the same coat did they? I knew watching it those had to be "government sponsored" lab coats. It made for good tv.

[peace13]

45. The white house has to sell policy 365 days a year.

Even if I think the coats are unnecessary I understand that it is a PR move to get the FOX viewers attention. We must try every trick in the book to wake the sheep up. I send a special thank you to the doctors that took the time to go to DC.

[undeterred]

47. I don't care if they are in their pajamas.

[tekisui]

51. That is a bullshit article, full of repuke tripe.

[firedupdem]

57. +1

waste of time completely.

[Stinky The Clown]

52. The responses here are pretty funny ....

Read them and try to relate.

Then read them and imagine that the bush white house did this and then see if the responses make sense as to tone or dismissiveness.

[jefferson_dem]

85. So you're the consistent one, huh?

And you've proven it by placing stock in the Murdoch-owned Post's phony dust-up smear piece. Gotcha.

[lapfog_1]

53. This is HUGH! I'm SERIES!!!

Obligatory.

[Beacool]

55. Interesting post on GD

Uninvited guest crashes president's party ...

"...But at least one attending physician was there to express a dissenting opinion.

Dr. Paul Hochfeld crashed the Rose Garden party in hopes of bending the president's ear. The Corvallis emergency room physician has spent most of the past month on a national tour with an Oregon group called the Mad As Hell Doctors to promote single-payer medical coverage...

"It wasn't really a meeting," Hochfeld said in a phone interview afterward. "It was a photo op for the president to show he had the support of all those physicians."

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_f6b1c316-b20e-11de-84e9-001cc4c03286.html


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6704866

[joeycola]

56. and I agree with Hochfeld regarding

his support for single payer--and the meet=up.

[Beacool]

60. Yep, pretty telling.

;-)

[rasputin1952]

58. Those were probably the "white coats" left over from when the

guys who are taking Murdoch off to his new digs had left over. They needed plenty since all the feces and urine Murdoch tosses about ruined the others.

I worked for years in a hospital, knew many physicians, and nary a one of them traveled w/the proverbial "white coat". in fact, virtually all of them are procured by the hospital and handed out by the case load...;)

[Cha]

61. Well, haven't you outted yourself, joeycola..you and the nypost

are on the same page.

"Botched" photo op? Obama's botched..botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched botched, ad infinitum!

There.. does that get you off?

Why it's just another "Stunning Failure"..like all you Fail Pushers keep Pusing on us..but, guess what joey? You're the ones who Epic FAil.

[geek tragedy]

72. The usual trolls and PUMAs are in here expressing their 'concern'

Too bad the PUMA board (CHF) imploded. We're left with the debris.

[rvablue]

83. This OP is pretty transparent, but can we drop the PUMA meme...

It's so tired and largely unprovable.

Just because there were a couple of "ladies who lunch" and another handful of irrelevant chatter boxes desperate for attention who voted for McCain instead of Obama doesn't mean that this exists as any type of cogent or significant phenomenon.

If someone pulled that lever for McCain because Hillary didn't win the primary then they never really adhered to Democratic Party principles anyway -- being that there was about an 1/8 of an inch of difference between Obama and Clinton policywise -- rendering the term "Party Unity My Ass" moot.

[geek tragedy]

88. Most people who voted for Hillary in the primaries are 100% cool.

But, there are a few PUMAs who never got over it (some of them were originally Edwards supporters--ouch that's gotta hurt).

[Cha]

92. Exactly with the..

"-- rendering the term "Party Unity My Ass" moot."

It definetly wasn't about that..it goes a lot deeper. However, I feel that there are a couple of leftovers from the primaries here who do fit into that category..but, they can stew in their own juices.

[jenmito]

76. IMPEACH OBAMA! He gave out white coats to REAL DOCTORS!

The SHAME!!!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

82. Who do those guys think they are? Doctors??

[jenmito]

87. I KNOW, right?! Jeez! How DARE the doctors be given doctor jackets! What phonies!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

91. I'm no fan of publicity shots like this...but the outrage is just way over the top.

I mean...it would be one thing if he rounded up homeless people and gave them lab coats. Or if they photoshopped the same people in lab coats again and again and again to make the crowd look bigger. But...they *are* doctors. So the outrage is what? That they are made to look more doctor-y?

[jenmito]

94. "So the outrage is what? That they are made to look more doctor-y?"

:rofl: You summed it up perfectly-the outrage is that they were given lab coats to "look more doctor-y"! :D

[jberryhill]

79. Obama is dead to me now

[SemiCharmedQuark]

81. Quick! Bring out the smelling salts and the fainting couches!

[jefferson_dem]

89. Don't Look Now! It's... "whitelabcoatgate"!

Bwahahaha...

[SemiCharmedQuark]

108. Speak Truth to Power! Sometimes doctors don't wear lab coats!

Elevenz!!!!111

[RepublicanElephant]

86. what a waste of good bandwidth. nt

[vaberella]

95. You deserve a rec for bringing on the comedy. What a magnificient FAIL, this was. n/t

[Lord Helmet]

97. seriously lame op

[Cha]

100. Oh, Looky Here..a X post from GD from a Doctor who was there..

Dear XXXXX,

Last night, I had dinner with doctors from across the country.

There were doctors from cities and small towns, specialists and primary care doctors, retired docs and ones in residency. We spoke about our lives, our careers, our patients, and each person's work in health reform. One thing bound us all together, the same thing that binds this entire organization together -- a fervent desire for health reform and a belief that as physicians and medical students, we can and must do our part.

We want you to be a part of this event because the reason the nation is turning to everyday physicians right now is because of what you've done to make Doctors for America what it is today. It is your stories, your letters to the editor, your phone calls to Congress, your recruitment of friends and colleagues -- your actions power this movement. Each of us who is going to the White House today goes not just as ourselves but as a representative of the hopes and beliefs of physicians and patients across the country.
See President Obama addressing everyday physicians and the nation at 11am Eastern TODAY

Today we go to the White House to send one message to the President, to Congress, and to the nation -- physicians across this nation stand ready to use our voices, stories, and experiences to help reform happen. Today's event symbolizes the difference that individual physicians can make on behalf of our patients and our profession.

As you read this, an everyday doctor from each state is getting ready to go to the White House. This has never happened before, and it is because of you. Every day until a strong health reform bill passes, I hope you will join us and be a part of making history.

Watch the livestream at 11am Eastern.
www.drsforamerica.org/whitehouse/stream.php

Sincerely,
Alice Chen, MD
Doctors for America




http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6710283#6710597

[Ikonoklast]

101. Yawn. Another cut-and -paste Obama hater using right-wing sources.

Jupiter's gravity doesn't suck near as much as the OP's agenda.

[jefferson_dem]

102. FYI: Feel nice cozying up to Glenn Beck?

He just promoted this nonsense on his FauxNews show.

[Cha]

103. Here's a video of the Doctors who attended who have something

to say..white coats and all.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/House-Call-on-Health-Insurance-Reform/

[Hippo_Tron]

104. The New York Post is a super super credible source of information