Gupta is no good for serious health care.

[ColbertWatcher]

Fine, he's a doctor, so are many other people. Fine, he knows how to talk on TV; so can Ryan Seacrest.

What this country needs is a serious medical professional, not the Rick Warren of doctors.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. Another corporate shill

Watching him try to take down Michael Moore on Larry King Live was, for me, the final nail in the Gupta coffin.

This is a bad, bad choice.

[truedelphi]

3. Ew I am glad I missed that

Out of curiousity, what did he try to say against Moore's position??

[Tangerine LaBamba]

17. Here ya go...........

It's best that you see for yourself..............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR2U_SAWHdQ

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Agreed.

I don't know what the thinking is behind the choice of this guy.

It's disgraceful to think this country doesn't have a larger pool of medical professionals form which to choose a surgeon general than doctors on TV.

[glitch]

55. My thoughts exactly. This cannot possibly the best Obama can find.

And if it is...why?

[uberblonde]

2. If you remember, he attacked Michael Moore's "Sicko"

And refused to correct his mistakes when Michael Moore proved he was wrong.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

[Dennis Donovan]

6. Here's the video links:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=256209&mesg_id=256209

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=256204&mesg_id=256204

[depakid]

8. "refused to correct his mistakes" -Yep. Just like Lou Dobbs

This is the hallmark of arrognace and lack of integrity.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Recommended. I'm not happy with the Gupta pick at all...

The first Surgeon General sponsored by Pfizer?

[bobbolink]

49. Yup, but we poor folk keep being reassured that Obama will come through for us on poverty issues.

So, are the rest of the "progressives" gonna stand with us poor folk and see to it that he DOES come through for poor folk?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4754889

[BlueIris]

5. A crass, obvious hoor for the pharmaceutical companies and their little friends.

Gupta scares me.

[polichick]

7. Really - Gupta and Warren?! Obama's going for high-visibility/popularity...

...instead of substance in these instances. YUCK!

[Jamastiene]

9. Well, you know. Oprah is going to want to make sure she gets

her choices picked. I imagine she is beaming with pride right now. :eyes:

Jesus wept.

[girl gone mad]

45. Oprah usually has better doctors on her show...

who are more open to alternative and preventative medicine and don't tell people that the solution to every health issue is to pop the latest greatest pill from Pharmaceutical giants.

[Jamastiene]

46. Gupta got his celebrity start on Oprah.

That's who "discovered" him.

[alarimer]

57. Alternative medicine is utter bullshit.

Absolutely no scientific evidence for its safety or efficacy. So no Oprah-endorsed woo-woo bullshit spewing doctors, please. NO alternative medicine advocates anywhere near the FDA, the NIH or the Public Health Service. We need SCIENCE-BASED medical policy, not wishful thinking. While Gupta is somewhat prone to woo (check out his initial unquestioning of Clonaid- in which the Raelians claimed to have cloned an actual human- it turned out to be fraud), he is a damn sight better than any Dr. Woo-woo Oprah has had on.

[dflprincess]

63. Dr. Oz would have been a better pick

The only time I watch Oprah (if I'm home) is when Dr. Oz is on.

[Mike 03]

10. This choice shocked and saddened me. I could not believe it.

As much as I love Obama, his last couple of cabinet picks have seemed awful beyond belief.

He's just throwing darts at this point, or something.

[KittyWampus]

11. what a bunch or raging, uninformed assholes DU is. At this point, this forum is useless.

if this is the extent of what your opinion of Gupta is, it's a fine example of the shallowness prevalent amongst posters here.

[Dennis Donovan]

13. Dr Gupta, is that you?

Are your feelings hurt?:rofl:

[KittyWampus]

15. wow, incisive commentary.

[Dennis Donovan]

24. Thank you!

:hi:

[Warren Stupidity]

18. so provide the information that would change opinions. nt

[DainBramaged]

21. Sorry, he should have chosen Doctor Dean.

I'll call the Wambulance

[ColbertWatcher]

28. Excuse me. But, I'm not a "bunch or raging, uninformed assholes"

I'm just one raging, uninformed asshole.

BTW, have you ever watched the greatest news program ever (The Colbert Report)?

Dr. Colbert (Hey! he's a doctor too!) covered a trip Rudy Giuliani made to England, when Rudy claimed he was one of the top five best known Americans in the world!



Dr. Colbert proved that being a doctor on TV is nothing to sneeze at, but being popular might be.

[Bluebear]

38. In this instance, go knock your head against your living room wall.

It will have the same effect.

[ColbertWatcher]

42. Meh, I'm posting to let my opinion on the Gupta pick known.

I wonder if there will be hearings for his confirmation?

[Bluebear]

44. Please do.

I just recognize the person you were addressing as being thickheaded about things.

[Starry Messenger]

32. Which Psalm is *that* from? n/t

[jefferson_dem]

52. It's virtually unbearable...turned into a virtual "ooga booga Land" I tell ya!

Gupta challenged Michael Moore's vision of American healthcare reform. Therefore, he will forever be a sucky shill! Ugh...

[dflprincess]

64. And your well thought out, fact filled commentary

will show many of us the error of our ways.

[OhioChick]

12. Agreed. n/t

[DainBramaged]

16. Well, there's Obama's concession to the Nations we outsource our jobs to.

Thanks Barack. Just another fine pick that will give America the kind of confidence in the Surgeon General that nominating Joe Camel would.

[K Gardner]

19. I would have rec'd this had you not felt compelled to bring RICKFREAKINWARREN into it, like you

do on just about everything you post. This reminds me of the Castro-Warren post. A bit of a stretch and good lord, enough already !

[pnwmom]

20. A surgeon general is basically a P.R. person.

He also happens to be a neuro-surgeon, which seems serious enough to me.

[ColbertWatcher]

31. He's on TV.

I find it hard to take anyone on TV seriously.

He's like one of those American Idol people--edited and formatted to fit on your screen.

[anonymous171]

34. Which makes him a good PR person for Obama.

[ColbertWatcher]

36. But not necessarily for medicine. n/t

[anonymous171]

43. Of course not.

And I haven't forgotten his tirade against HC reform either. He's a corporate shill, but as long as Obama keeps him on a tight leash, I have no problems with him.

[ColbertWatcher]

51. I wonder what kind of vetting he went through? n/t

[dflprincess]

65. We seem to be expecting Obama to keep a lot of people on a tight leash

Why is he appointing all these people if he doesn't agree with them and can't trust them out of his sight?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

37. He should communicate his ideas via carrier pigeon.

TVs are for the gilded class.

[ColbertWatcher]

41. Ooh! Or, radio! Like Dr. Laura! n/t

[pnwmom]

48. And it's TV job, not a policy job.

Remember Koop? The anti-cigarette smoking Surgeon General?

[ColbertWatcher]

59. Yes, I remember Koop!

I still think picking a guy from TV is falling into the celebrity worship problem of FOX and American Idol.

[pnwmom]

60. He's a guy from TV who still performs brain surgery.

So he's not the typical TV guy.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially for a job like this.

[ColbertWatcher]

61. I just have a problem with medical advice dispensed on TV (or radio).

Look how hard it is to get people to understand why we shouldn't torture or attack any random country using TV and radio as media for information!

I understand he still performs surgery, but the TV part doesn't sit well with me.

[Oregone]

22. Gupta as SG makes me happier to have moved to Canada

So long and thanks for all the Pell Grants. Ill now enjoy my single payer insurance in the north

Seriously...what a defunct nation this has become.

[polichick]

25. Do you have a spare room? :)

[Oregone]

27. Sorry...

Rent here is expensive. :)

Id be fine if it wasn't for that house Im paying off in the states that wont sell for another 5 years in that shitty climate.

[polichick]

30. Know what ya mean - I have some property I should be selling...

...but the market isn't good enough to bother.

[corpseratemedia]

23. gupta is anti-universal health care

things just aren't going to get better under dlc cointelpro leadership

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. "The Rick Warren of doctors."

Epic fail.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8063077#8063213

:rofl:

[ColbertWatcher]

29. Hmm. Interesting.

I didn't post that comparison because I thought Gupta was homophobic like Warren, but because they both perform on TV (and probably have their own makeup).

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Riiiiiight.

And Stephen Colbert is the Rick Warren of satire.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. Good try. Dane Cook is the Rick Warren of satire. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

40. Here, this person said it much better than I did ...

... they used the word "celebrity" instead of comparing Gupta to another celebrity (like I did with Warren).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4779242&mesg_id=4779334

But, it means the same thing; they're both "celebrities" in their field, but no more an expert than others who are not as well known.

[bigwillq]

35. K and R!

:bounce: :thumbsup:

[Stinky The Clown]

47. He's the Dr Phil of Doctors

[ColbertWatcher]

50. LOL! n/t

[harun]

53. This is Obama's worst pick of them all in my opinion.

[Orangepeel]

54. Will he shill for Obama's plans as strongly as he shills for his current employers?

If so, he's probably a good pick. He's good on TV and familiar and believable to many people who watch it.

[Cha]

56. Here are some ways to Contact Obama and

let him know what you think of his latest pick, Sanjay Gupta.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2352363_contact-barack-obama.html

[ColbertWatcher]

58. Thank you for the link. n/t

[Quantess]

62. He knows how to consult and collaborate with other professionals.

He can glean the wisdom of specialists through consultation and collaboration, and then package the information into cohesive, user-friendly, pre-digested, sound bites to keep Americans satisfied.

Through consultation & collaboration, I am confident that some pretty solid health policies can be formed. Solid and respectable, especially when compared to the memories of republican Surgeon Generals of the past.

Dr. Drew was too busy, apparently.

[ColbertWatcher]

66. "Dr. Drew was too busy, apparently."

http://www.instantrimshot.com/

[Cleita]

67. We once had Howard Dean, a serious doctor who wanted to bring

health care to everyone by entering politics, and who should have been nominated as the Secretary of Health and Human resources, but bring on the Hollywood guys. I wonder what position Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been offered?

[eridani]

68. What we need is not necessarily a doctor, but someone informed about health policy

In that area, Gupta is a jackass, however good a surgeon he is.