Sanjay Gupta

[busymom]

I like him on CNN...but...he is a media celebrity and has no public health experience. He was elected one of the Sexiest men in 2003 by People..it's just hard for me to take him seriously. Now, before everyone starts flaming me and telling me that I must have something against hot guys....I don't! :) Gupta just doesn't strike me as a serious pick. Though he has experience as a neurosurgeon he is not qualified in any way in the realm of public health. His specialty is brain surgery...which is noble and incredible...but...he's a CNN host for cripes sake.

I have not really had a problem with any of Obama's picks up until this point. Some have surprised me, but ultimately I've been ok with them..and I like watching Gupta on TV...but...Surgeon General? When I first heard this, I thought the person telling me was joking.

:shrug:


Obviously, I will continue to support Obama ... this particular choice just seems very odd!

[WeDidIt]

1. He has public health experience

He's the associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and from 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton.

[busymom]

5. Serving as Chief of Neurosurgery

for one year is not public health experience....also...in many facilities, it is a rotating honor (and pain in the ass) shared by most of the faculty!!!

[HughMoran]

2. Good ol' Sanjay Gupta

Latest DU topic.

[Renew Deal]

6. It's the bullshit crisis of the week

Unless something pops up in the next two days.

[Renew Deal]

3. The point is that if Obama picked someone with the same creds that was never on CNN

No one would care.

[busymom]

9. I think the fact that S. Gupta has been on CNN

does erode his credibility as being....serious. It's just my perception though, and I know my perception can be wrong....so we'll see what happens. I think someone with more experience in broad public health issues would be better...actually a family practitioner would probably be better...less specialized, but more exposure to the needs of more people.

[Bluebear]

13. And if Bush had picked Gupta there would be a caterwauling like you've never heard.

[last_texas_dem]

23. Yep

I have heard many argue over the last couple of months that Obama's picks are not about ideology, but about picking the "best person for the job." The argument was used to contrast Obama's choices with Bush's choices (and to try to get complaining liberals to shut up.) Now my question is, is there someone on here seriously ready to argue that Gupta is the best person for the job?

[marimour]

4. what exactly do you think the SG does?

I'm not asking what credentials yo think they should have b/c it is pretty obvious that only someone who has worked in public heath for a long period of time is acceptable. But what do you think a SG actually does every day?

[jillan]

7. He's a neurosurgeon.

And from what I have heard, he wants Gupta to help him promote his healthcare plan.
I think Gutpa will be very effective doing that.

From Wikipedia :

Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American physician and a contributing CNN chief health correspondent based in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 is also a frequent guest on the news program Anderson Cooper 360°. "Charity Hospital" won a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast. From 1997 to 1998, he served as one of fifteen White House Fellows, primarily as an advisor to Hillary Clinton. Gupta currently publishes a column in TIME magazine. He is also host of House Call with Dr Sanjay Gupta. His book Chasing Life was a New York Times and National bestseller

[busymom]

11. yes...a specialist

who spends a lot of time working on his media career...but I'm sure is also an excellent surgeon. That being said, I think a physician that works with the average patient would have more of an understanding of the health care needs and costs that most people experience. Also, I think whomever is Surgeon General should have a little bit more public health training and experience.

[jillan]

16. You do have a point there, but what I like about this pick is that Gupta

is an excellent communicator and part of his job is going to be 'selling' the Obama healthcare plan.

Think about the rw wackos - like O'Reilly and Limpdick - are they really going be in a position to argue with a neurosurgeon? Oh yeah, I'm sure they will, but their argument will not be as credible.

The way I look at it is that Gutpa has both credentials - he is a Dr and a successful tv personality (whether you like him or not). AND he will not be the one writing policy - he will be the one delivering it.

I do know that Gupta believes in preventive care. He's always preaching that on CNN. And that is part of Obama's healthcare plan.


Overall, I think Obama picked the person that he feels will most help him in the area of universal healthcare.

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. With his choice of Gupta, Obama has made it clear he has no interest

in Universal Health Care - just another version of universal health INSURANCE.

But then, even after my primary candidates fell by the wayside and I moved to Obama, I knew that UHC was not where he is at. We will get a temporary respite, if we are lucky, but it will keep the insurance companies in charge of setting prices and will, in the end, be a colossal failure.

HEALTH IS NOT A COMMODITY. We need government funded single-payer universal health care. Now.

[Jennicut]

21. He never said he did, was that not a point of contention between Hillary and him?

Obama was never for universal health care or single payer or anything like that, he is for reform. We shall see how big it will be but with the lack of money and his hands tied by Shrub's failures he won't be able to do much until his 2nd term (if he gets one) anyways.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. No, he never did - that's true. And that was one reason I backed him

rather than Hillary, because she never did either but she SAID she did - she was always for putting it in the hands of the insurance companies with her mandated insurance, but she called her universal health insurance 'universal healthcare', which was a degree of disingenuousness I couldn't stomach.

I never had high expectations for Obama on healthcare; at the same time, I didn't expect him to go to Hillary's camp for his Surgeon General. One reason I approved of Hillary as SoS, was that it kept her fingers OUT of healthcare.

[napi21]

17. Please read a little about Grady before you make too much of Sanjay's experience.l

http://www.gradyhealthsystem.org/about.asp

Grady Health System was the vision of Henry W. Grady, editor of the "Atlanta Constitution," who worried about the lack of quality health care for Atlanta's poor. In 1892 his extraordinary dream came true when the doors to Grady Hospital were officially opened. Since that time, Grady Health System has grown considerably from its original three story, 110-bed facility - and now stands as one of the largest public health systems in the United States.

Exceptional Care, Remarkable Services
Grady Health System today continues to maintain its strong commitment to the health-care needs of the underserved, while also offering a full-range of specialized medical services for all segments of the community.

(snip)

With more than 5,000 employees, Grady Health System is governed by Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation and manages 921,000 patient visits each year. Millions of dollars in indigent and charity care are provided monthly, while the majority of Grady's revenue comes from Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement. Grady is one of Atlanta's largest employers and generates a positive economic impact of more than $1.5 billion a year for the metro Atlanta economy.

Their reputation for healthcare is very good, and it's located in the heart of the underpriveleged in Atlanta.

[Danger Mouse]

8. The latest red meat for the hand-wringers.

[Thrill]

20. Latest Fake outrage.

I've seen several medical professionals on the News shows praising the choice

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. No fake outrage -

there are plenty of medical professionals who deny the benefits of medical marijuana, who are firmly opposed to single-payer universal healthcare, who support the medical insurance industry, who make huge amounts of money from the pharmaceutical industry...

that doesn't make them right.

[jillan]

10. Oh - and while traveling to Iraq to cover the war, he performed emergency surgery on a soldier.

You gotta give him kudos for that.

[busymom]

12. I do. But I still don't think he should be surgeon general....

All of the military physicians performed surgeries too and....I don't know that it qualifies them to be surgeon general either....

[greyghost]

14. Perhaps President Obama wants a SG that can COMMUNICATE?

[HereSince1628]

15. I know there are people with much more experience. So why this pick?

Obama is putting together a team with an idea of the strategies and the sort of plays that team will make when fielded.

Obama's choice in position players reflects his anticipation of how those players will be used.

Sanjay Gupta is a celebrity surgeon...

I doubt Obama is looking at some sort of major initiative in brain surgery, although the traumatic brain injuries of Iraq/Afganistan veterans would certainly have made Gupta an interesting choice as director of VA Hosptials.

My personal opinion is that Obama is most interested in Gupta's celebrity, where his strength is pushing products to an audience (face it health info-tainment is a media product).

I am looking for Gupta to mostly be the "face" of Obama's healthcare initiatives, nothing more nothing less.

I think we can expect that the CDC and the NIH will be moving in directions determined by their professional staff rather than this political appointment.

[Barack_America]

18. No flaming from me.

Those who know how to evaluate public health experience know that he's not a serious pick.