Paging Dr. Gupta . . . to Washington?

06.01.2009

I was about to decry the news of Obama's reported desire to make Sanjay Gupta his Surgeon General as the triumph of style over substance, but then I read further into Howie Kurtz's piece and saw:

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.

I'm less interested in his ethnicity (see why below). But his policy chops--of which I'd previously been unaware--and his TV skills--of which I'm all too aware--make for a fairly compelling argument that he'd be a decent Surgeon General, especially if, as seems likely, Obama expects him to play a role in pursuing health care reform. He's definitely more compelling on Larry King than Tom Daschle. Now, just so long as Obama doesn't ask King himself to join his administration . . . .

--Jason Zengerle

Posted: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:10 PM with 4 comment(s)

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csmiller said:

What next - Geraldo Reviera for press secretary?

January 6, 2009 5:14 PM

michael said:

I did know Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery. Sure, he's telegenic but he'd be formidable when facing anti-science and pseudo-science nutballs on the right. Plus, he can explain things in a way they might understand.

January 6, 2009 5:30 PM

drdannyu said:

Meh. I suppose Obama could do worse, though I'm not impressed with Gupta's policy credentials.

I also recall an exchange between Gupta and Michael Moore on CNN (I think) shortly after the release of "Sicko." For the record, I am no great fan of the latter, whose scruples are not something I trust all that much. That being said, Moore was going after Gupta for deliberately splitting hairs about some figure or another that Moore had cited, and it was pretty obvious that Gupta was being tendentious in order to make Moore seem dishonest. It pains me to say this, but Moore was right, and Gupta was fudging in order to make for better TV. It's my one genuine impression of Gupta, and it wasn't complimentary.

I don't really favor giving government jobs to celebrities. Unless, of course, the people doing the hiring are the voters of Minnesota. And csmiller, at least there's precedent, thanks to the late Tony Snow.

January 6, 2009 5:32 PM

thetraytiger said:

Oh come on Jason/csmiller... No need for skepticism; he'll be great.

Surgeons General don't actually do anything; they're health salesmen in chief. Michael has it right. The guy obviously knows his medicine, knows his policy, and can persuade the American public. It's a perfect pick as far as I'm concerned.

What's more, 30 years from now, the prospect of Dr. Gupta on TV trying to sell me Life Alert systems would be a welcome contrast from the ever-crotchety C. Everett Koop.

January 6, 2009 5:54 PM