In the past few days, I have been hearing talk that Sanjay Gupta, the CNN Chief Health Correspondent is being looked at as a possible candidate for Surgeon General of the United States. From what I have heard he is currently being vetted in preparation for his role as Surgeon General. And what has also erupted is a large opposition to Obama's choice, with calls coming on from Democratic Rep John Conyers of Michigan to reasses the decision of appointing Gupta.
Gupta was also in the headlines recently for a public disagreement he shared with filmmaker Michael Moore over the documentary 'Sicko'. Moore had made the movie 'Sicko' as a form of appeal to the American people in the approval of Universal Healthcare Coverage.
Michael Moore has always been known for 'fudging' his facts while making documentaries, and Gupta's negative response to 'Sicko' came as no surprise.
But what I would like to ask is this, did the Obama Cabinet make a wise decision in appointing Sanjay Gupta as the Surgeon General? Even though Sanjay Gupta is a world renowned neurosurgeon and a very capable candidate for the job, will his celebrity status make it hard for him to do his job better than another, less-renowned doctor would have been able to? Or will his celebrity status help him with his approval ratings the same way it did other celebrities-turned-political figures (Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc) Please discuss...
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I do believe that the appeal to vanity will boost the chances that people would like the choice of Sanjay Gupta for SG. The question remains - is he capable of being one? From what I gather, he seems to be knowledgeable on various fields in medicine, particularly in neurosurgery. For references, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gupta
I believe that someone with the ability to do his job, while keeping the jargon to himself all the same, is very talented for this job. Think about it - the surgeon general is someone who should be able to talk to the public about health issues, obviously in a manner that is comprehensible to anyone. The good thing about Dr. Sanjay is that he is talented in this respect. Dr. Oz would also have been a good choice, but since the issue here is about Dr. Sanjay, let's get real - he is capable of doing the things that the job requires in my opinion. If your argument is that he has little experience because he is young, then just click on the reference I provided, and read on. You'd be surprised at what this guy has been doing in the 40 years that he has lived.
My argument never was that he was too young, after all he is only 8 years younger than Obama. My main worry is that his celebrity status might interfere with his work. I (personally) am still not sure where I lie on this matter.I find myself leaning slowly toward supporting him, but I guess time will tell. He is a very talented person, but maybe a bit high profile for such a post.
Rep Conyers seems to be very interested in uprooting this choice though.
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