Gupta Is Out of the Running for Surgeon General

[babsbunny]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/gupta-is-out-of-the-running-for-surgeon-general/?hp

By Gardiner Harris

The Obama Administration just got a lot less sexy.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon who was one of People magazine’s “sexiest men alive” in 2003, has announced that he has withdrawn from being considered as surgeon general, CNN reported.

Several other candidates are now under serious consideration, including Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Dr. Gupta had been approached by the Obama transition team and discussed the job with President-elect Barack Obama late last year in Chicago. Administration officials had confirmed that he was a leading candidate for the job.

[tanngrisnir3]

1. Can't say as I blame him, what with the pay cut he'd have to take.

[Demeter]

2. That's too bad

I thought he was well-suited for the job as presently structured. Haven't heard of any "problems" with his candidacy, either.

Hope it wasn't "Bobby Jindal" backlash that made him decline.

[Bozita]

3. He's auditioning for a lucrative job as spokesmodel for the entire industry.

Harry and Louise, all over again.

[marketcrazy1]

6. I have seen this posted half a dozen times today

and all I can think is, who cares!. truth is I know very little about the man other than skimming past him on TV. ( apparently he had or has a show ) so what was it about this TV personality that would have made him a good SG??? is he a great researcher? is he widely published professionally? has he worked on breakthrough medicine or pioneered new procedures? what exactly has he done beyond TV and books for the masses?? seriously! not trying to criticize, honestly wondering............

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. He's a professor of neurosurgey at Emory.

And a practicing brain surgeon at a nearby hospital.

He's published a number of scientific papers, yes.

But it's his journalism work and public health advocacy that was the motivation for his consideration for the spot. The job is essentially cheer-leading for public health.

[marketcrazy1]

10. thank you!! HiFructosePronSyrup

now it makes more sense....

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Keep in mind...

both Dr. Jocelyn Elders and Dr. Howard Dean thought he'd be a great pick for the job.

[IADEMO2004]

Attention Michael Moore

[av8rdave]

4. Can't say as I'm unhappy about that at all!

After the way he treated Michael Moore and his documentary "Sicko," and refused to recant in the face of facts, I became convinced that he is among the industry elite that do NOT want to see universal health care.

Surgeon General is a serious policy position. It is not appropriate to fill it with a TV star. We need a serious physician with a policy background.

[DeepBlueC]

13. he was picked for TV because of impeccable medical credentials

being a hottie was secondary! He is a serious physician. Has performed neurosurgery in war setting if I am not mistaken. He would have been very visible spokesperson. It really is a PR job not policy job so much.

[MrPerson]

5. Simon didn't like him. He had goofy hair.

[Wiley50]

7. Beat me to it. How about Sanjiah?

He ain't no doctor but he sings real purdy.

And it's almost the same name.

No one can tell the difference

[MADem]

8. It's a shitty job, really, and he'd have to stop practicing neurosurgery...

It wouldn't do for the Surgeon General to ever have a "bad patient outcome" and he does a lot of high risk work.

He'd take a huge pay cut, and the glamour just isn't in the job anymore--the transition team might have been hoping he'd bring a bit back.

Dr. Gupta presides over a small media empire that, in addition to his regular work on CNN, includes appearances on the ”CBS Evening News” and columns in Time magazine. His first book, about the search for immortality, was published in 2007. He is paid for speaking engagements, a controversial practice for a journalist. The All American Talent and Celebrity Network lists his speaking fees as $30,001 to $50,000.

Despite being considered for an administration job, Dr. Gupta continued to work as a journalist. A CNN spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment.

In exchange for this empire, Dr. Gupta would have taken on an ailing patient. The status and authority of the surgeon general, the titular head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, has been on the wane for decades. It had a brief revival under Dr. C. Everett Koop, whose stand against cigarette smoking gave the office national credibility and new life as a popular public health adviser. Successive surgeons general, with small staffs and low profiles, have sought to capitalize on Dr. Koop’s success, with mixed results.

Dr. Richard Carmona testified before Congress in 2007 that the Bush administration had muzzled him, forced him to trumpet administration priorities, restricted his travel and suppressed or tried to weaken important public health reports. The administration’s subsequent choice for the post never received a Senate hearing, and since 2006 the position has been occupied by nearly invisible veterans of the commissioned corps.....



Peter Jennings used to get paid to speak, too--no one used the "controversial practice" phrase when he picked up his checks.

It would have been a nice "get" for the contingent with southwest asian heritage, but I can't blame him for saying Thanks But No Thanks. He still is in his "surgical prime" as it were, and the job is probably better for a Koop type--someone who can be both grouchy and avuncular, depending on the circumstances. Maybe they can find a friendly and crabby old WOMAN who will tell everyone to take walks and eat their peas!

[and-justice-for-all]

12. that is good to hear...nt