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Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General

RightinNYC

RightinNYC

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Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General | 44 | washingtonpost.com

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.

Gupta has told administration officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is under way. He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer.

...

The Michigan-born son of Indian and Pakistani parents, Gupta has always been drawn to health policy. He was a White House fellow in the late 1990s, writing speeches and crafting policy for Hillary Clinton. His appointment would give the administration a prominent official of Southwest Asian descent and a skilled television spokesman.
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I always thought this guy was a bit of a Dr. Phil just based on seeing him once or twice, but he's actually got some pretty great medical credentials. Not to mention his panache for the dramatic:

His role as journalist and physician have sometimes overlapped. During the 2003 Iraq invasion, Gupta was embedded with a Navy unit called Devil Docs and, while covering its mission, performed brain surgery five times, the first of which was on a 2-year-old Iraqi boy.
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RightinNYC said:
Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General | 44 | washingtonpost.com



I always thought this guy was a bit of a Dr. Phil just based on seeing him once or twice, but he's actually got some pretty great medical credentials. Not to mention his panache for the dramatic:
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Could he be the first SG that people can name on Leno? Since C. Everett Koop? Seems plausible. Never gave him a sideways glance before now, though I am reading up on him now. Thanks for the thread!:cool:
 
RightinNYC said:
Why I Would Vote No On Pot - TIME

Apparently he hates pot.
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Hmm...I thought he was a good choice until I read that article. Of course he's right about the health problems associated with marijuana, but that is not a valid reason to oppose its legalization.

A sociologist is much more qualified to assess the legality of marijuana than a doctor is.
 
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I honestly don't know enough about the guy to have an honest opinion of his value. So, I have nothing to contribute to this thread, which makes me wonder why I am posting. Regardless, I sustain my default stance of cautious optimism.
 
SWM said:
I honestly don't know enough about the guy to have an honest opinion of his value. So, I have nothing to contribute to this thread, which makes me wonder why I am posting. Regardless, I sustain my default stance of cautious optimism.
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I've seen the guy on TV and I have read up on his medical credentials. There are, of course, better people Obama could have chosen, but Gupta isn't bad and he really knows his medicine as well as the legal aspects of it. He isn't the BEST choice(but really, who is?) but he is a completely safe choice, which all I really worry about.
 
Kandahar said:
Hmm...I thought he was a good choice until I read that article. Of course he's right about the health problems associated with marijuana, but that is not a valid reason to oppose its legalization.

A sociologist is much more qualified to assess the legality of marijuana than a doctor is.
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Why is citing the unhealthy effects of marijuana an illegitimate basis to oppose legalizing it?

And why is a sociologist all-of-a-sudden a legal expert?
 
DarkWizard12 said:
I've seen the guy on TV and I have read up on his medical credentials. There are, of course, better people Obama could have chosen, but Gupta isn't bad and he really knows his medicine as well as the legal aspects of it. He isn't the BEST choice(but really, who is?) but he is a completely safe choice, which all I really worry about.
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The Surgeon General position is a public relations post. I think this pick exemplifies the PR status associated with the position.

Gupta will be great at lecturing us about the hazards related to consuming red meat, sugar, fat and wag his finger at us for smoking and not controlling our weight.

:roll:
 
JMak said:
Why is citing the unhealthy effects of marijuana an illegitimate basis to oppose legalizing it?
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Because tobacco and alcohol are much more dangerous and legal?
 
Meh - this is just funny. Typically, surgeon general goes to someone who they know personally, or a celebrity surgeon. It ups their practice and they get input. Gupta will be no different.
 
JMak said:
Why is citing the unhealthy effects of marijuana an illegitimate basis to oppose legalizing it?
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Soda, Big Macs, and french fries have unhealthy effects too, but no serious person is trying to make them illegal.

JMak said:
And why is a sociologist all-of-a-sudden a legal expert?
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A sociologist is at least qualified to address the likely consequences of the war on drugs and what would happen if marijuana was legalized. A doctor has no such expertise; his opinion rests entirely on the faulty logic "It's bad for you, therefore you shouldn't be allowed to do it."
 
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