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6 Votes
11 Comments
Obama Wants Journalist Gupta for Surgeon General
News Type: Event — Seeded on Tue Jan 6, 2009 4:27 PM EST
Article Source: The Washington Postadvertisement
By Howard Kurtz
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.
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- Chris Boese's Column, All of Newsvine
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- Regions: Washington DC
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| Busy Gupta performs brain surgery, reports for CNN | Associated Press | Tue Jan 6 | 0 |
- Public Discussion (11)
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{"commentId":4689851,"authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
LOL! Going from covering the "devil docs" for CNN in Iraq during the active fighting in 2003 to Surgeon General. What a run this guy is having, esp. for a doctor.
The offer followed a two-hour Chicago meeting in November with Obama, who said that Gupta could be the highest-profile surgeon general in history and would have an expanded role in providing health policy advice, the sources said. Gupta later spoke with Tom Daschle, Obama's White House health czar and nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, and other advisers to the president-elect.
{"commentId":4689851,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
- 3 votes
#1 - Tue Jan 6, 2009 4:29 PM EST{"commentId":4693315,"authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
It is kind of bizarre!
I have been spending time tonight researching his views, because all I know is his TV news work...(and that he is quite handsome *wink* ).
{"commentId":4693315,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":4693382,"authorDomain":"lkessler41"}
I heard this, and then that put the whole selection of Panetta for the CIA into perspective. It seems that Barack Obama is just drawing names out of one hat, and available positions out of the other, and matching what comes out, without any rhyme or reason.
hippiechick: you are utterly correct on the "quite handsome" part regarding Mr. Gupta. :)
{"commentId":4693382,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"lkessler41"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4693384,"authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
He's decent-looking in person too, altho all TV people are much more slender in person than they are on TV.
{"commentId":4693384,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4693484,"authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
I should add that he is also one of the sharpest and savviest people I've met inside the CNN building in Atlanta. You won't find any surprises in your research, hippiechick, other than a typical on-air personality's tendency to mug for cameras a bit overmuch sometimes.
I thought he was going to Iraq to cover the war, and was as surprised as anyone that he rolled up his sleeves and did a little brain surgery during war conditions (and they were some harrowing conditions). Was it grandstanding? Maybe a little, but everything on TV is packaged by "producers" and I don't know how much control he had over how he was being hyped back in the editing bay (or by opportunistic newsroom execs).
I could have done with fewer repetition of the Navy "Devil Docs" name, which was just too made-for-TV for words, but there you go. He gets the sound bite universe, and he's been making difficult concepts and research accessible to people for at least 8 years now.
But the truth is, every time when he could have gone a bit overboard in the obnoxious Rick Sanchez sense, Sanjay always pulled back, found the deeper values in what he was doing. He's not just smart. He is extremely savvy.
And he "gets" marketing at a deep level. One of his side projects involves a closed circuit medical waiting room video product. I'm not sure if there's an interactive version, or if they are just short linear health info shorts. Yes, they're are over-branded and over-produced with swooshes and music, but he's been doing this thing for years.
{"commentId":4693484,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"chrisboese"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":4693553,"authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
But the truth is, every time when he could have gone a bit overboard in the obnoxious Rick Sanchez sense, Sanjay always pulled back, found the deeper values in what he was doing. He's not just smart. He is extremely savvy.
I am pleased to hear this. An "insider's" POV is worth more than what I will read on the internet. I remember the days when the Surgeon General actually contributed to society in meaningful ways...
{"commentId":4693553,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":4693535,"authorDomain":"veauxie"}
I was wondering what the Surgeon General actually DOES and it turns out to be a very big job. Since education is the role's primary purpose, a journalist isn't a bad selection at all. It's not like the guy is supposed to be writing prescriptions, after all.
Very cute, very married, very brave (debated Michael Moore on Larry King Live). ;-)
{"commentId":4693535,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"veauxie"}
- 5 votes
#2 - Tue Jan 6, 2009 8:49 PM EST{"commentId":4693571,"authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
I was wondering what the Surgeon General actually DOES and it turns out to be a very big job.
Funny, as I was typing my comment, you were echoing what I said. I agree, his work as a journalist could really pay off in this position.
{"commentId":4693571,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"hippiechick"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4694217,"authorDomain":"lkessler41"}
veauxtek wrote: very brave (debated Michael Moore on Larry King Live). ;-)
Ok, debating Michael Moore on Larry King? That alone ratches up the man's rep in my book. I consider Michael Moore to be the ultimate idiot (that's a personal opinion, and it is in no way inviting disagreeing p.o.v.'s to try and convince me--it won't work).
{"commentId":4694217,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"lkessler41"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":4694587,"authorDomain":"jedipunk"}
From a late 2006 article titled Why I would Vote No On Pot by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
What do voters need to know before going to the polls?
The first is that marijuana isn't really very good for you. True, there are health benefits for some patients. Several recent studies, including a new one from the Scripps Research Institute, show that THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for the high, can help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (In fact, it seems to block the formation of disease-causing plaques better than several mainstream drugs.) Other studies have shown THC to be a very effective antinausea treatment for people--cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example--for whom conventional medications aren't working. And medical cannabis has shown promise relieving pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.
But I suspect that most of the people eager to vote yes on the new ballot measures aren't suffering from glaucoma, Alzheimer's or chemo-induced nausea. Many of them just want to get stoned legally. That's why I, like many other doctors, am unimpressed with the proposed legislation, which would legalize marijuana irrespective of any medical condition.
His conclusion does nothing to change my mind that marijauna should be legal or, at least, decriminalized. Hell, make it a precription drug and allow hemp harvests.
The health effects mentioned are no more or worse than tobacco or alcohol. Nor is the addiction. So unless he would vote to make those illegal his stance makes little sense.
Other than this finding, I am not familiar with the man.
{"commentId":4694587,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"jedipunk"}
#3 - Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:25 PM EST{"commentId":4694657,"authorDomain":"Blearc"}
I heard this earlier today and I cheered, not because of his credentials, which I haven't had time to look at, but because he is a trusted name and the American people need to start looking at their habits which he has been a very vocal.
I like this pick, but I'm biased. (aren't we all)
{"commentId":4694657,"threadId":"462519","contentId":"2280752","authorDomain":"Blearc"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:33 PM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"462519","isPrivate":false}
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