By about 3:30p.m. eastern this afternoon, every South Asian American in the country (and their mother) had already heard that Sanjay Gupta was on the verge of being announced the next Surgeon General of the United States:
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.
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. [Link]
<
p>The choice of Gupta is very obvious when you think about it. It adds a touch of star power to Obama’s administration, will get lots of kudos (and donations) from the South Asian American community and, perhaps most importantly, adds another health care policy wonk to the dream team to be headed by H&HS Secretary Tom Daschle. You know all those rich Indian doctors that tend to vote Republican? Maybe not anymore.
CNN released a statement saying, “Since first learning that Dr. Gupta was under consideration for the surgeon general position, CNN has made sure that his on-air reporting has been on health and wellness matters and not on health-care policy or any matters involving the new administration…” [Link]
<
p>Taking this job, which will result in a large paycut for Gupta, will also set him up very nicely to run for office in Michigan in the future. Through some contacts I heard the rumors a few months back that Gupta at least thought about or was encouraged to run for mayor of Detroit to replace the disgraced Kwame Kilpatrick.
<
p>As a college senior I once invited Dr. Gupta to the Midwest Indian American Students’s Conference at the University of Michigan (he is an alumnus). It was before he hit the big time but I remember him being really genuine and laid back. And of course who can forget his exploits with the Devil Docs at the beginning of the war where is switched between reporting for CNN and scrubbing in to brain surgery.
<
p>There is another really good potential outcome as a result of this appointment. I know a lot of desi doctors who look a lot younger than they really are. Patients always make comments to them like, “uhhh…are you old enough?” Now these desi doctors can point to Sanjay Gupta who is the top doctor in the land and also looks pretty young and say, “umm, like yeah.”
What I really wanted to do was to end this post with the really funny Gupta/Dobbs CNN ad from a few years back. Can someone find me a working link…STAT?
Gupta has the ability to effectively communicate healthcare policies to the population. He can be a great point man for Obama’s new healthcare plan.
Great choice.
ha ha ha
yay! i’ll be very pleased if he accepts!
I’ll bet the Gupta Girls are very excited.
Even more exciting news: Wolf Blitzer has picked Kal Penn (whose real name is Dr. Lawrence Kutner) to act as the go-to out-of-the-box thinking medical guy for CNN.
🙂 like this Ambi Jeybalan?
With kids named Sage and Sky, what are the odds on Gupta’s major contribution being the legalization of marijuana during his term?
Does this mean Everett Koop will be knocked from his perch of Sexiest Surgeon General?
It’s exciting news, but I’m not sure about the above after I heard about the way Gupta apparently poo-poohed all of Michael Moore’s work in Sicko. Did he ever come around and admit that Moore might have had a few points? Regardless of how one feels about Moore (and of course he tends to paint in broad strokes), it makes me wonder if Gupta believes in the severity of the health care abyss we’re on the edge of.
In any case, I’m not really optimistic that the Obama administration is going to be able to accomplish anything substantive in terms of relief for those who are falling through the cracks (and doughnut holes) in the health/insurance systems. I sincerely hope I’m pleasantly surprised, though. I want our system to end up more like the EU or Canada and less like Brazil.
As for mayor of Detroit: who the hell (with half a brain) would want such a job? Seriously.
I think Obama, in his “team of rivals” spirit, should name Gupta’s Michigan arch-nemesis Michael Moore car czar to recognize his yeoman work from Roger and me, and restore the average weight of the cabinet after Bill Richardson’s departure.
Oh, and he’ll be “SG, the SG”. How cool is that?
I agree with you, kusala. I’m happy he was tapped, however, I wish Obama had considered someone who was more in tune with some more pressing public health crises. A surgeon general is supposed to raise awareness on issues like the the decrease of primary care physicians. I’m uncertain that Dr. Gupta’s credentials reflect an enthusiasm in creating a platform for those issues. But I’m still happy, and I hope he proves the minor skepticism in me wrong.
I agree with kusala too.
I also look forward to the Counterpunch article about young Gupta volunteering for some Hindu org.
Brother Bleah–yeah, I agree with you. It’s a bit preliminary to be celebrating this before we hear whether Vijay Prashad approves! 😉
Seriously, though–cool news!
Dr. Gupta’s face is stuck very far up the insurance industry ass. He and Daschle can tag fuck this country’s health care system. There seems to be a whole lot of worship of brown corporate cons on this forum. It is too easy to forget the hit piece he ran on Michael Moore.
Before people comment on Sanjay Gupta’s qualifications, public health crisis, health care system and Sanjay’s involvement, etc, it is very important to understand the nature of Surgeon General job. From CNN:
The surgeon general has a tiny staff, must rely on other agencies for a budget and holds little power. The surgeon general typically isn’t heavily involved in shaping an administration’s policy, but the position has proven over the years to be a powerful bully pulpit for disseminating public health information. Past surgeons general have proved instrumental in battling tobacco and AIDS.
Having such a well-known TV personality could bring the surgeon general attention not seen since C. Everett Koop help the position under President Ronald Reagan. Koop is best known for pushing to make AIDS a public health issue rather than a moral issue, and Reagan faced pressure to fire him. Koop has said Reagan never interfered.
Sure, but health “information” is shaped by the pharma lobby. Will he come out against children being given psychiatric drugs? Or against TV advertisements for prescription drugs? Maybe he will get lucky, and bird flu will become a pandemic, so that he can make that his signature campaign, sidestepping all the difficult issues.
Sure, but health “information” is shaped by the pharma lobby. Will he come out against children being given psychiatric drugs? Or against TV advertisements for prescription drugs? Maybe he will get lucky, and bird flu will become a pandemic, so that he can make that his signature campaign, sidestepping all the difficult issues. Why don’t you read Surgeon General actualy does?
They talk, and talk……….just talk about personal healthy habits, and that is their job. And, the cigarette warning labe.
I meant: And, the cigarette warning label
Wikipedia on Surgeon General. From office of the Surgeon General
16 · Kush Tandon said
kush, i understand obama has offerred gupta an expanded role in giving healthcare policy advice.
kush, i understand obama has offerred gupta an expanded role in giving healthcare policy advice.
manju, at best, it will be just an advice role, but that is not surgeon general’s job. it will not his responsibility.
his responsibility will be to tell americans about food pyramid, and how many fruits should one eat daily to keep cholesterol low, be healthy and injury free. or use of condoms….or ……..
can we ban rahul for this thread plase? clearly he’s shilling for marcus welby or doogie howser. for the rest of us this is the greatest desi moment since englebert humperdink won a grammy. maybe rahul’s bitter from failing his mcats or perhaps playing doctor with that girl from goa left him knowing all there is to know about the crying game, but frankly he’s taking away all the joy we as a community should experince from this authentic desi–a neurosurgeon!! (isn’t there a special section at shaadi.com for them)— becoming a General!!…with a real uniform and everything…like michael jackson.
So this is super and all, but does anyone who follows this kind of stuff know if he’s actually qualified for thge non-talking head part of this position? I read the wikipedia on Surgeon General that Kush Tandon was kind enough to link to as well as the Sanjay Gupta entry. I didn’t realize he had spent a year in policy advising before (in the Clinton White House, along with 14 others), but other than that, can someone who knows about this kind of stuff speak to whether he actually is qualified for this position?
Like this stuff:
And what are his politics and all? Inquiring minds want to know.
22 · Kush Tandon said
kush, you”re right but there’s nothing preventing obama from expanding his role into policy, and there appears to be some rumblings along those lines. he won’t have much of a dept to run, for sure, but like nixon used kissenger when he was NSA, the prez could choose to grant the SG more responsibility. we’ll see. he appears to be doing something similar with susan rice, so its not completely outside the realm of possibility that gupta takes over health care reform, for example.
he has a shot at real power and doesn’t necessarily have to be relagated to talking about masturbation like clinton’s SG. to bad bubba didn’t take her advice though.
23 · Manju said
Heh, that guy must think he’s on a roll, keeps coming back for more. Tough room, tough room.
Abhi, does this Midwest Indian American Students’s Conference still exist (or was this back in the Dark Ages*)? Or did you mean Midwest Asian American Students’ Conference?
23 · Manju said
if by crying game, you mean tears of joy. it was fabulous, actually. yes, that’s what i said.
27 · carmen from goa said
well, rahul said it was a pain in the ass
This is not going to end well, he has a few skeletons. Friends at U of MI report he was and is a “man-whore”. This person can not represent “medicine”. He is a self-promoting doctor, fine, but to be actually be involved in health policy is very weak. Sorry NSGNs are not the intellectual types amongst surgeons or all of medicine. The Obama Team has faced reality well so far, I wish them success.
vj
28 · Manju said
but it hurt so good, baby. didn’t it? you liked it too, manju. that’s the word on the streets (of patpong).
9 · kusala said
Does this really surprise you? Pretty much all his cabinet picks have been very safe, and, in some cases, acceptable to conservatives such as myself. I don’t expect Obama to deviate much from his New Democrat predecessors during this term. If he gets a 2nd term, he may shift more to the left. You let him off the hook when you guys were busy shilling for this guy and not asking tough questions about his policies prior to the election. You voted for change, but what exactly that change entails, other than from Rep to Dem control of the presidency, is uncertain.
When did poo-poohing Moore become wrong? The man should be poo-poohed on a regular basis.
Come on guys… this is a great moment for Indians.
Late night television ads for Life Alert will present the comforting brown face of Sanjay to Americans for years to come.
And we have this take from Paul Krugman on his NYT blog, titled “The trouble with Sanjay Gupta” to contend with http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/the-trouble-with-sanjay-gupta/
Never heard of Gupta outside CNN. Any well known cases, theories, medical proclamations from him? Anything that makes him better over say … Dr. Phil.
If Obama chose Gupta just for his being brown, what’s he trying to prove?
Rahul too funny!
Someone was asking about his politics…if you look at the things he’s done through CNN, he seems to be a patient advocate (as opposed to an industry/doctor lobbyist); so that’s reassuring to me.
I think Sanjay should take the job it is a career opportunity and a chance of a lifetime. I think it is great President elect Obama is giving this job to a South Asian American. I don’t know if he will take the job though because he will receive more media attention and be in the spotlight. Does anyone remember Dr. Elders? She got fired from the Clinton administration for suggesting that mastrubatuion was probably better for teens then engaging in sexual intercourse. The republicans had a field day and she was fired. I think Dr. Gupta will take the job but he has to remember once he takes this job his fame will grow and so will the public and media’s interest in him and his family.
Look, I’m all for judging people, however this Administration has taken office yet. Will Gupta be a good choice? Does the job Surgeon General have any substance beyond the symbolic? Can President-elect Obama usher in a new era of health care policies? All of this will be on display with a few months.
I think the more interesting question relevant to Dr. Gupta and other doctors, is how will the profession have to change in response to financial and social responsibilities over the next decade?
I agree with the person on Krugman’s blog who says Gupta is “smarmy”.
Looks like Obama wanted an Indian, and he had a choice between the doctor and techie stereotypes, and he couldn’t find a right techie, so he picked the doctor with the highest profile. It is good for Indians on the stereotyping side, and he is a good choice for a yakking figurehead, but he is still smarmy.
29 · vj said
A college boy having sex? Oh dear, what a scandal! I’m alreading getting a bit of the vapors. Dr. Gupta, where are you when I need you?
35 · AmsterdamGuy said
The Surgeon General appointment is intended to select a health educator/policy maker. It is not now or ever been a post for Nobel shortlisted MD/PhD’s, that’s the Natl Institutes of Health. There’s nothing atypical about Gupta as far as this appointment goes, but you seem to be itching to go down the affirmative action path. Dr. Phil is a psychologist, not a neurosurgeon BTW
My quote above begins at “The Surgeon General…”. Everything above that is “Amsterdamguy”
42 · sloppyjoe said
The Surgeon General appointment is intended to select a health educator/policy maker. It is not now or ever been a post for Nobel shortlisted MD/PhD’s, that’s the Natl Institutes of Health. There’s nothing atypical about Gupta as far as this appointment goes, but you seem to be itching to go down the affirmative action path. Dr. Phil is a psychologist, not a neurosurgeon BTW
I noticed that bs that amsterdamguy tried to pull in; I’m sure Gupta’s appointment as attorney general has little to do with him being brown…if anything it is an added bonus that he is a minority, though not an underrepresented minority in this competitive field. Sanjay is very accomplished in his own right, period. – whether I want him as surgeon general? – I’m reading everyone’s comments and trying to figure out what is the purpose of surgeon general and what stances Sanjay has and if that even matters in his position. If it was just about him being accomplished…and hot (for my personal benefit) than I’d be all for him.
Amsterdamguy: My apologies, you did not explicitly bring up A.A. Instead you wanted to explore the idea that Obama selected Gupta based on race “If Obama chose Gupta just for his being brown, what’s he trying to prove? “. You thought it necessary to devalue Gupta’s credentials as a neurosurgeon by comparing him to Dr. Phil, who as I will state once again is not an MD.
By the way Amsterdamguy, Dr. Phil has a phd not an md.
40 · Bleah said
How in the hell do you know what Obama wanted? Stop speculating and bringing race into the issue. And although SM can give lot of coverage to this issue because, gasp, he happens to be born of Indian parents, I wouldn’t think SG or Obama care in the least bit of his race credentials. Until people like you stop looking at everything through brown glasses, race issues will never die.
35 · AmsterdamGuy said
40 · Bleah said
AmsterdamGuy and Bleah, you are wrong. I happen to have it on good authority that Obama, in his continuing effort to have Af-Ams take over the machinery of government and become the new “man”, and to make up for the setback of the Burris issue, actually was looking for a Dr. Dre. Unfortunately, a miscommunication resulted in Dr. Gupta being picked instead.
16 · Kush Tandon said
Kush, you are completely wrong. The sturgeon general is undoubtedly the biggest fish in the administration.