ABC News: Barack Obama Taps CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General

[sabra]

http://abcnews.go.com/

BREAKING NEWS> Barack Obama Taps CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Can't wait for Michael Moore's response.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

21. That was my first thought too

You beat me to the punch. But yeah, I can't wait for his response to that, particularly after Gupta trashed "Sicko" and then got schooled by Moore afterwards.

Popcorn, anyone?

:popcorn:

[yardwork]

25. Not just trashed, lied about it. Gupta blatantly lied about Moore's documentary

and refused to apologize or retract his false statements even after they were proven false.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

36. Right

This is one of Obama's first :wtf: appointments for me so far. *Well, Panetta for DCI was a bit of a surprise but a rather welcome one.

[liberalhistorian]

2. Yuck. This "doctor" has no concept

of people not being able to pay for health care, even those with insurance, and thinks the more profit made the better. Yuck, what a terrible fucking choice. Sigh.

[Lorien]

5. Yep. Just another whore for major corporations

no "change" here I'm afraid. :-(

[thereismore]

3. Sanjaya? nt

[drm604]

4. Are you frigging kidding me?

No, I guess you're not. I see it on the top of ABC's page. Time will tell whether or not it's a rumor.

[Lucky 13]

6. Are you fucking serious?

That guy is a tool.

[DebbieCDC]

7. This is ridiculous

Why not Dr. Phil for cryin out loud.

This is a big screwup by Obama. I hate to say it but this is stupid beyond belief if true.

[moc]

8. Public health, public health, public health...

As I said in the other thread, medicine and public health are NOT synonymous. The SG is the lead PUBLIC HEALTH officer for the country, not the lead DOCTOR. What background does he have in public health?

[Barack_America]

13. Public health falls under HHS nowdays.

Surgeon General is basically a meaningless post now.

[moc]

17. Missing the point.

There are a lot of things that fall under HHS. The head of HUD can't be the Surgeon General just because both are HHS. The SG is the head of PH for this country. It pulls together PH infrastructure from a range of departments including CDC, HRSA, NIH to name a few. The SG needs to be someone with public health training.

[yardwork]

23. The SG needs to be somebody in favor of public health. Gupta is not.

Gupta lied about Michael Moore's documentary on health care.

[moc]

26. I assume you mean SG, and I agree. This is the root of my concern.

Of course, I'd love the Attorney General to be a public health supporter as well. ;-)

[yardwork]

32. Thanks. Fixed it.

[marimour]

66. he is in favor of public health

Things are set to change in the US with the elections in full swing. Who's got the better healthcare plan among the presidential candidates?

"Every candidate in this election is talking about healthcare. Hillary Clinton has been talking about universal healthcare since 1994. Barack Obama has talked about some universal healthcare insurance. Hopefully this will translate into something significant."

What do you think of Canada's healthcare system?

"There are a lot of plusses to Canada's healthcare system. The biggest plus -- besides the fact that people have healthcare insurance -- is that there's a certain amount of psychological well-being, feeling safe just from knowing that you're going to be taken care of if something bad happens to you. Unfortunately, in the US people don't have that."

http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/interview/2008/5_interview_03.html


I would say that this is in favor of public heath. Please correct me if it isn't.

[yardwork]

72. If you read the body of his statements in context you will see a general bias against PH

You can cherry pick individual phrases and segments of paragraphs, but the overall message Gupta sends is anti-universal health care, anti-public health in the broad sense, and pro-corporation. In turn, he receives a great deal of money from health corporations and insurance companies.

[Barack_America]

27. I agree that he's not qualified.

Dean would've been a better pick, if they were looking for a relatively high-profile individual.

[cali]

39. absolutely.

people don't seem to understand that public health is a different field from medicine.

[sandnsea]

9. Oh puke

I do not even know what the hell this is about.

[Connie_Corleone]

10. It's a PR job. He should be good at that.

He's not setting the health care policy, Obama is.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

11. 1st choice Toothy the Tooth could not get released from his Cartoon Network contract.

[Barack_America]

12. This is indicative of what a joke the position of Surgeon General has become...

I mean, how much experience does it take for somebody to be "qualified" to remind people to eat their green leafy vegetables?

[nevergiveup]

14. I can't believe how you all

keep underestimating Obama. Can you not get past Gupta's spat with Moore? Have you read Gupta's bio? When he becomes a spokesman for national health care it will be monumental. This is totally brilliant move by Obama.

[yardwork]

24. Gupta doesn't believe in national health care.

[LynneSin]

28. Which doesn't matter since SG does not set policy

It's a spokesperson role

[yardwork]

30. How's he going to advocate for something he doesn't believe in?

[LynneSin]

37. You think that's going to stop Obama

What I see from Surgeon General is telling us to eat healthy, excericize and not smoke.

We'll be fine.

[dcindian]

40. No it won't hurt a bit will it???

You don't think the Senate Repukes will use each and every anti universal health care statement the new Surgeon General has uttered?


Color it over.

[Autumn]

38. Then I think he

sucks.

[MoonRiver]

41. I agree,

but will :hide: from the circular firing squad aiming at you.

[madaboutharry]

15. Dr. Gupta is a twit.

This is a real stupid choice. This man is a a shill for corporate medicine. He couldn't care less about the health care of the American people. I question Obama's judgment on this one.

[dave29]

29. you are calling a neurosurgeon a twit

fyi

[madaboutharry]

64. As a matter of fact, yes I am.

One can be a neurosurgeon and a twit at the same time.

[cali]

42. health care is not the job of the SG

and public health is a distinct field. In addition, whatever else he is, Gupta is a distinguished neurosurgeon.

[yardwork]

50. The role of the SG is to advocate for public health.

[cali]

55. do you even know what the field of public health is?

[yardwork]

62. Yes. I have an advanced degree in it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

67. Is it from an accredited university?

I had to ask.

[pleah]

16. WTF?

:wow:

[DURHAM D]

18. Is this not a joke? Obama can't be serious about this. eom

[Metric System]

19. Say WHAAAT? Interesting.

[my3boyz]

20. WHAT??????????????? Now I'm shocked! nt

[yardwork]

22. Ok, this is embarrassing. Total sop to the corporations.

Obama has just made Big Pharma's paid shill the official U.S. spokesperson for health.

He might as well have just handed the job to Johnson & Johnson.

[cali]

43. you just demonstrated the general cluelessness of many here

about what the SG job entails.

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[liberalhistorian]

75. And I'm sure you being the Enlightenment Queen and all,

you'll make certain to shine the light for us poor dumb country bumpkins. Please. We know what the SG job is or, more importantly, it psychological role for the country, and we know that Gupta is NOT the right man for the job. Far from it.

[bigwillq]

31. What a horrible fucking pick.

Regardless of what the job of SG has become. Gupta is a freaking loon. :puke: :mad:

[dcindian]

33. Woohoo an anti universal health care corporate shill for Surgeon General.

Well looks like health care reform is probably out the window.

Oh look he also hates medicare.

[dpbrown]

57. Probably the worst choice yet

The nation needs universal, single-payer health care, yesterday!!!

[HelenWheels]

34. Another bad Obama pick

He's really ticking me off!

[Teaser]

35. oh boy, HelenWheels is pissed off.

are you somebody?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

47. How rude. She can think and say whatever she wants !!!

[Zodiak]

49. Do you have an argument

...other than trying to mount a personal attack and calling out another DUer by name?

Vapid snark does not make for a good discussion.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

58. Have you considered telling it to Helenwheels?

Because she didn't offer an argument to begin with.

[Zodiak]

73. No I didn't

Because she didn't go after another DUer by calling them out, which was my original point that stands despite your attempt at deflection.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

74. You mean like you just did with Teaser?

Sheesh.

[progressoid]

44. I'll add mine to the above sentiments

You've got to be kidding.

This is a joke, right?

[d_b]

45. this is a joke

right?

[crimsonblue]

46. good move

he chose an extremely intelligent doctor to fill the position.

[jhain]

48. This HAS to be a bad joke.

The "dr" has idiot views from breastfeeding to a national health plan.
Please let this be a BAD joke.

[zulchzulu]

52. Gupta might want to resign from some pharma think tanks soon...

I remember this back then and knew that Gupta was certainly on a mission (however inaccurate) to try to slay Michael Moore's "Sicko" documentary, which of course went a little far but certainly illustrated the debacle that our healthcare industry is.

A July 9, 2007, broadcast of CNN's The Situation Room aired a "fact check" segment by Gupta on Michael Moore's 2007 film Sicko in which Gupta stated that Moore had "fudged facts". Immediately following the segment, Moore was interviewed live on CNN by Wolf Blitzer. Moore said that Gupta's report was inaccurate and biased, and Moore later posted a detailed response on his website. Moore accused CNN and Gupta of being biased in favor of the drug industry because most of the sponsors for their medical coverage, including Gupta's reports, were drug companies.

On July 10, 2007, Gupta debated Moore on Larry King Live, and, on the 15th, CNN released a statement in response to Michael Moore's rebuttal. In it, they apologized for an error in their on-air report, having stated that in the film Moore reported Cuba spends $25 per person for health care when the film actually gave that number as $251. CNN attributed this to a transcription error. CNN defended the rest of Gupta's report and issued a point-by-point response to Moore's response in which CNN contended that Moore's comparison of data from different sources in different years was in effect "cherry picking" results, at the cost of statistical accuracy.

CNN also admitted that, in his debate with Moore, Gupta had afterwards committed a second error, mistakenly contesting Moore's observation that Gupta's one on-air expert was now associated with a Republican-linked think tank rather than a university (a fact which the chyron on Gupta's original report had stated correctly). Gupta's exact language, according to the official CNN transcript, was "he is with a think tank and his only affiliation is with Vanderbilt University."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta

More dirt from Media Matters:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200707120001

Crooks and Liars does some handywork on this too:
http://crooksandliars.com/2007/07/11/michael-moore-vs-sanja-gupta/

Marketing of Merck's Gardasil Scandal:
http://www.counterpunch.org/martens07202007.html

Sicko:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/

[Sultana]

Did they even vett this dude?

[zulchzulu]

59. He was voted Sexiest Man in People Magazine in 2003

So... yunno...

:crazy:

[Sultana]

53. WTF Obama?

Seriously???

[TacticalPeek]

54. This is not the Onion?

C'mon - tell me this is the Onion, pleaseplease.

[dpbrown]

56. What a crap choice... he proved he knew nothing and was completely shredded by Michael Moore

This is a very, very poor choice.

"I'm not a real (good) doctor, but I play one on TV."

[1776Forever]

60. Sanjay Gupta Data page.......an Advisor to the First Lady (Hillary Clinton)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1918973/bio

From 1997-98 he served as one of 15 White House Fellows, as an advisor to the First Lady (Hillary Clinton). Currently publishes a column in TIME Magazine.

and:

http://www.nndb.com/people/000/000102691/

Sanjay Gupta

Born: c. 1970

Gender: Male
Religion: Hindu
Race or Ethnicity: Asian/Indian
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: TV Personality, Doctor
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: CNN's resident neurosurgeon

Father: Subhash Gupta (Ford Motor Company engineer)
Mother: Damyanti Gupta (Ford Motor Company engineer)
Wife: Rebecca Olson Gupta (m. 15-May-2004)
Daughter: Sage Ayla Gupta (b. Jun-2005)

University: BA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Medical School: MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Professor: University of Michigan
Professor: University of Tennessee
Professor: Emory University

CNN
Time columnist
Council on Foreign Relations
White House Fellows 1997-98

[Critters2]

61. So much for universal health care. nt

[marimour]

69. really why?

Things are set to change in the US with the elections in full swing. Who's got the better healthcare plan among the presidential candidates?

"Every candidate in this election is talking about healthcare. Hillary Clinton has been talking about universal healthcare since 1994. Barack Obama has talked about some universal healthcare insurance. Hopefully this will translate into something significant."

What do you think of Canada's healthcare system?

"There are a lot of plusses to Canada's healthcare system. The biggest plus -- besides the fact that people have healthcare insurance -- is that there's a certain amount of psychological well-being, feeling safe just from knowing that you're going to be taken care of if something bad happens to you. Unfortunately, in the US people don't have that."

Dr. Sanjay Gupta



http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/interview/2008/5_interview_03.html

[bvar22]

63. The only thing funny about this appointment....

...are the starry-eyed acolytes trying to defend it.

[girl gone mad]

65. Always the same ones, every single time. n/t

[K Gardner]

68. Please let this be a joke.

[VADem11]

70. Who cares?

It's essentially a meaningless post, I doubt that anybody can name the current Surgeon General. I'd be more concerned if he was going to be head of HHS.

[The Backlash Cometh]

71. Can someone tell me what Obama was thinking?

[harun]

76. Guess he knows how to read a teleprompter, can't give him any more compliments

beyond that.

Maybe Obama is doing it to get him off the corporate payroll of CNN and under his management. To stop spouting bullshit about how bad universal care would be for everyone.