The Weekly Standard is elated about Obama's Surgeon General choice

[Bluebear]

Sanjay Gupta, Obama's Politically Incorrect Surgeon General


So, America's most telegenic, Indian-American neurosurgeon/family man/anchorman will be America's next surgeon general. None of C. Everett Koop's stern demeanor and exceptional facial hair or Joycelyn Elders' tendency toward the most awkward national public health conversations ever. Not for Obama.

It's a smart political choice— one that puts an undeniably smart, young, minority figure in a place of prominence who reflects Obama's own perceived vibrancy.

It's also an encouraging choice when it comes to the politics of public health. In my experience, watching and reading Gupta, he's a fair man who tells the truth about health issues, even when the truth runs counter to liberal public-health crusades. Such honesty in a health reporter is fairly remarkable, and is what makes Gupta worth watching.

He's perhaps most famous for a dust-up with Michael Moore over his movie, "Sicko." CNN initially aired a report by Gupta, which refuted many of the charges made about health care by Moore in "Sicko." Moore accused Gupta and CNN of being in bed with pharmaceutical companies, because the imagination of this filmmaker only allows for a very small, predictable cast of villains. Gupta ended up correcting and apologizing for one incorrect figure in his reporting— he had misstated Moore's figure on per-capita health spending in Cuba, saying $25 instead of $251. Gupta later faced off with Moore in a debate on "Larry King Live," and CNN stood behind Gupta with a point-by-point rebuttal of Moore's complaint.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/01/sanjay_gupta_obamas_politicall.asp

[polichick]

1. Gupta spit out CNN's corporate lines/lies in that dust-up. Who is he really? I'm not sure.

[oldtime dfl_er]

13. I wish it was Dr. Atul Gawande

If you read the New Yorker you may have read some of his writing. He's brilliant.

Wikipedia on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atul_Gawande

[Bluebear]

14. Especially being an endocrinologist, what with the epidemic of diabetes in this country.

Would be a great choice.

[Bluebear]

15. .

[mmonk]

2. Of course. Whatever solution for healthcare is being worked on,

it is a solution for insurers, not the public.

[Donnachaidh]

3. oh fer f*ck's sake -- HIM?

This jerk who was such a weenie about Sicko? :grr:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

4. Holy fucking shit

You are kidding, right? :eyes:

"It's also an encouraging choice when it comes to the politics of public health. In my experience, watching and reading Gupta, he's a fair man who tells the truth about health issues, even when the truth runs counter to liberal public-health crusades. Such honesty in a health reporter is fairly remarkable, and is what makes Gupta worth watching."

Did you write this B.S. quoted above? Holy shit... I hope not.

[EconomicLiberal]

5. Obama has done a good job appeasing the wingnuts.

And he has done a good job of throwing liberals under the bus. Add us to the list after Reverend Wright, his mother, his gay supporters and others.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. His grandmother?

What did Obama do to distance himself from his grandmother?

How did I miss such a big thing?

[PA Democrat]

6. Wow. The writer of that article must not have watched the same

show that I did. I thought Gupta looked like an ass trying to distract from Moore's overall message by nitpicking over Moore's sources of health care expenditure figures.

[mmonk]

9. Everybody connected with the Weekly Standard is an ass.

That's why the article is favorable to Gupta.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. Larry King pissed me off -

he kept telling Michael Moore to be quiet, let Gupta talk.

Far too many times.

Corporate shills stick together.

[Daphne08]

7. Ugh.

x(

[Robbien]

8. The Weekly Standard has been elated about almost every single Obama choice

excluding maybe one or two.

[QC]

12. They have good reason for their elation. n/t

[Bluebear]

27. .

[Bluebear]

29. .

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

16. Are we seriously down to arguing about his pick for surgeon general?

Please wake me when this is over.

[Bluebear]

17. Yes, it's just about his surgeon general pick.

[ProSense]

18. His Presidency is doomed. n/t

[Bluebear]

19. It's not doomed at all. He just makes very, very odd choices.

[ProSense]

20. Maybe he knows what he's doing,

Not saying he's always right, but just maybe he knows what he doing.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

21. Odd how?

Hell, can you even name the current surgeon general? (No cheating by going to Wikipedia.)

[Bluebear]

22. Galson but the last great one was Elders

[Bluebear]

23. Well? Do I win anything?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

25. Yes. The respect of your peers.

And a cupcake, if I can ever be bothered to bake another batch. (And no, they're not "magic" cupcakes, so don't even ask.)

[Bluebear]

26. mmmm

cupcakes :)

[dsc]

31. I can name both of Clinton's and Reagan's

but admittedly I can't recall Bush's but that is because Bush doesn't give a damn about domestic policy, Obama does. Dr. Gupta will be a presence in our lives as SG.

[deaniac21]

24. I wish it was Dr. Hook!

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

28. o i c

[Luminous Animal]

30. That the Weekly Standard supports Gupta

is telling.

Here is Moore debunking Gupta's "truth":

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017

And in response to CNN's rebuttal:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10055