Posted by James @ 7:49 pm on January 6th 2009

You’ve Gupta Be Kidding Me.

Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General

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.

When reached for comment today, Gupta did not deny the account but declined to comment.

First Panetta, now this? What’s next, Judge Judy for the Supreme Court?

posted in: Main

10 Comments »

  1. Umm, Gupta is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He was one of the chief White House medical fellows during the Clinton administration, and even in his capacity as a journalist, has had reason to grapple with medical issues covering the entire gamut of what a Surgeon General would have to.

    Interesting aside:

    In 2003, Gupta traveled to Iraq to cover the medical aspects of 2003 invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq, Gupta performed emergency surgery on both U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Gupta was embedded with a Marine medical unit at the time. A Marine named Jesus Vidana suffered a severe head injury and the Marines asked for Gupta’s assistance because of his background in neurosurgery. Vidana survived and was sent back to the United States for rehabilitation.

    In short: he’s pretty damn qualified by any reckoning. That he is CNN’s chief medical correspondent doesn’t make him unqualified any more than their retired two-star generals who serve as military correspondents trade in their qualifications at the door.

    Comment by Brad — 1/6/2009 @ 8:02 pm

  2. You would have said that if he had tapped, Dr. Phil. You have been assimilated, Brad, face it.

    Comment by James — 1/6/2009 @ 8:07 pm

  3. Explain to me in what way Gupta is not qualified, James.

    Comment by Brad — 1/6/2009 @ 8:09 pm

  4. Can we backpedal a bit and ask why we even need a Surgeon General?

    Comment by KipEsquire — 1/7/2009 @ 12:26 am

  5. Surgeon General is pretty much a PR position anyway, so it kind of makes sense.

    Comment by daveg — 1/7/2009 @ 12:56 am

  6. I honestly can’t think of the current SG and he can’t be worse than Joscelin Elders…

    Comment by daveg — 1/7/2009 @ 12:57 am

  7. Other than the role as a mouthpiece, which Gupta can do, I was under the impression that the Surgeon General had to manage a large number of people (thousands). It’s not fantastically important as a position, so far as I’m aware (and they get ignored often enough), so this isn’t a risk like the Panetta appointment, because the worst that can happen is that Gupta makes Obama look a little showy and silly by spouting off too much. I’m almost surprised Gupta wants the job, actually.

    Comment by Adam — 1/7/2009 @ 10:46 am

  8. He has to put warnings on cigarette packs, also.

    Comment by Dingle — 1/7/2009 @ 11:39 am

  9. I’m almost surprised Gupta wants the job, actually.

    He just wants to wear that nifty uniform.

    Hey, I agree with Adam that this is not nearly so odd a choice as the Panetta one, but I just thought that the “celebrity factor” of Gupta rather detracts from at least the perception that the SG matters. I also agree with Kip and wonder why the hell we need one.

    Comment by James — 1/7/2009 @ 12:57 pm

  10. At present the task seems to be that of a cheerleader for healthy living. Probably after we nationalize health care, he will be in charge of performing all the heart transplants or something.

    Comment by Rojas — 1/7/2009 @ 3:19 pm

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