kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jan 6, 2009 15:56:41 GMT -5
"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." voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2009/01/06/obama_wants_journalist_for_sur.html?nav=igoogleAt first this seems laughable. But thinking about it, isn't the Surgeon General simply a spokesperson for the administration on public health issues? Or is he or she more involved in policy matters? I honestly don't know. |
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TC
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Post by TC on Jan 6, 2009 16:15:42 GMT -5
kc, you just described the plot of Christopher Buckley's book "Supreme Courtship". Worth a read, it's entertaining.
BTW, if we're going for TV doctors, Dr. Drew would be better.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Jan 6, 2009 17:51:55 GMT -5
And a comedian in the Senate?
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Jan 6, 2009 17:53:17 GMT -5
And a comedian in the Senate? That's just as crazy as an actor the star of "Bedtime for Bonzo" becoming president. |
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Post by strummer8526 on Jan 6, 2009 17:53:40 GMT -5
And the guy from Jingle All the Way running California?
Stop it. None of us know Gupta's qualifications. Aside from the fact that I find his name a bit funny to say, there is no reason to think he's even the slightest bit unqualified. Attack his merits or leave it alone.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Jan 6, 2009 17:56:46 GMT -5
"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." voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2009/01/06/obama_wants_journalist_for_sur.html?nav=igoogleAt first this seems laughable. But thinking about it, isn't the Surgeon General simply a spokesperson for the administration on public health issues? Or is he or she more involved in policy matters? I honestly don't know. You're upset a neurosurgeon is the nation's top doctor? Were you expecting an orthopedist or something? |
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jan 6, 2009 17:58:45 GMT -5
"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." voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2009/01/06/obama_wants_journalist_for_sur.html?nav=igoogleAt first this seems laughable. But thinking about it, isn't the Surgeon General simply a spokesperson for the administration on public health issues? Or is he or she more involved in policy matters? I honestly don't know. You're upset a neurosurgeon is the nation's top doctor? Were you expecting an orthopedist or something? My wife would probably prefer a general surgeon. |
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jan 6, 2009 18:17:27 GMT -5
I don't see a problem with this--he's an assistant professor at Emory University and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta according to Wikipedia, so he's no Dr. Phil or Dr. Drew, and at 39, he's more likely to speak effectively to young America on health issues than C. Everett Koop did selling Life-Alert.
Now if Obama would have selected Artie Lange instead, that would be a problem...
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Jan 6, 2009 18:33:52 GMT -5
And the guy from Jingle All the Way running California? Stop it. None of us know Gupta's qualifications. Aside from the fact that I find his name a bit funny to say, there is no reason to think he's even the slightest bit unqualified. Attack his merits or leave it alone. Awfully defensive aren't we? Is this what it's going to be like the next four years? Chill out. The original post, more than anything, was a question about what are the qualifications for a surgeon general, and a query about what the surgeon general actually does. |
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TC
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Post by TC on Jan 6, 2009 19:23:41 GMT -5
I don't see a problem with this--he's an assistant professor at Emory University and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta according to Wikipedia, so he's no Dr. Phil or Dr. Drew, and at 39, he's more likely to speak effectively to young America on health issues than C. Everett Koop did selling Life-Alert. How's that any different than Dr. Drew (Assistant Professor at USC, Director at Las Encinas) - who is light years ahead of Sanjay Gupta in speaking effectively to young America on health issues? There's no similarity between Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew - Dr. Phil is not an MD, Sanjay Gupta and Drew Pinsky are. Dr. Drew spends a lot of time on his radio shows attacking Dr. Phil and his idea that tough colloquial talk is going to make someone change their behavior. Plus Dr. Drew is a passionate, passionate man. Anyway, I think I agree with where kchoya was going with this - that you're looking for someone with excellent communication skills who can sell policy and secondarily understand the science - rather than who is the best surgeon. |
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Jan 6, 2009 20:02:02 GMT -5
And a comedian in the Senate? That's just as crazy as an actor the star of "Bedtime for Bonzo" becoming president. Or a two-term governor of California who had earlier been an actor. |
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HoyaNyr320
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Post by HoyaNyr320 on Jan 6, 2009 23:19:37 GMT -5
Or a two-term governor of California who had earlier been an actor. And what did he do before he was a governor? The point is that political careers begin differently. Senator Franken is no different than Reagan in that way. BTW, unlike Coleman, Franken actually grew up in Minnesota. |
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Jan 6, 2009 23:31:04 GMT -5
Or a two-term governor of California who had earlier been an actor. And what did he do before he was a governor? The point is that political careers begin differently. Senator Franken is no different than Reagan in that way. BTW, unlike Coleman, Franken actually grew up in Minnesota. Franken went to my high school. So did Mark Dayton, the Senator who closed his office in 2004 because of a possible terrorist attack that, oddly enough, no other Senator was worried about. Fun thing is it's actually a pretty prestigious school. And I think it says something about Franken that, in a massively Democratic year, with a strong Presidential candidate in a solid blue state and against an average opponent, he needed a recount to win. |
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DrumsGoBang
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Post by DrumsGoBang on Jan 7, 2009 9:05:34 GMT -5
It's too cold to think in Minnesota, so sometimes crazy people get elected.
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TC
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Post by TC on Jan 7, 2009 10:25:25 GMT -5
And I think it says something about Franken that, in a massively Democratic year, with a strong Presidential candidate in a solid blue state and against an average opponent, he needed a recount to win. Minnesota elected Michele Bachmann, who hides in the bushes to spy on Gay Pride parades and doesn't like the twirly light bulbs. I think it's wishful thinking to make any conclusion other than Minnesota politics are strange. |
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DrumsGoBang
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Post by DrumsGoBang on Jan 7, 2009 10:55:49 GMT -5
According to the blurb about him, Sanjay Gupta was a white house fellow and also performed surgery on soldiers in Iraq in 2003. That plus all his other qualifications as a neurosurgeon and good public speaker and spokesman should make him a hell of a lot more qualified then some of the people Bush appointed....like maybe...ummm..Brownie.
Does the Surgeon general get to wear a uniform?
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Jan 7, 2009 11:40:05 GMT -5
I agree, Sanjay Gupta is much more qualified to be Surgeon General than Leon Panetta is qualified to head the CIA.
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DrumsGoBang
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Post by DrumsGoBang on Jan 7, 2009 12:50:27 GMT -5
well it's hard to pick someone more qualified then Leon Panetta, who was present at daily security briefings during the Clinton year, and helped to shape security policy during that time.
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Bando
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Post by Bando on Jan 7, 2009 13:17:53 GMT -5
Does the Surgeon general get to wear a uniform? Ok, this is a giant pet peeve of mine. The "general" in attorney general and surgeon general is an adjective, not a title. It describes practice area. I remember watching Alberto Gonzales testifying before Congress and cringing when members addressed him as "General Gonzales". |
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jan 7, 2009 13:28:41 GMT -5
Agreed, general refers to job responsibilities and not to a rank, but further confusing the situation is that the Surgeon General is considered a vice admiral in the uniformed public health corps and that's why they wear those uniforms. Not sure if Dr. Gupta needs to become a vice admiral, though. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_K._Galson |
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