Posted on 01/06/2009 11:52:26 AM PST by BGHater
President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to 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.
The Michigan-born son of Indian and Pakistani parents, Gupta has always been drawn to health policy. He was a White House fellow in the late 1990s, writing speeches and crafting policy for Hillary Clinton. His appointment would give the administration a prominent official of Southwest Asian descent and a skilled television spokesman.
Gupta, who hosts "House Call" on CNN, has discussed the job offer with his bosses at CBS and CNN to make sure he could be released from his contractual obligations, the sources said.
His role as journalist and physician have sometimes overlapped. During the 2003 Iraq invasion, Gupta was embedded with a Navy unit called Devil Docs and, while covering its mission, performed brain surgery five times, the first of which was on a 2-year-old Iraqi boy.
(Excerpt) Read more at voices.washingtonpost.com ...
Just when you think you’ve seen it all....
Obama wants a museum director to run the Navy and a journalist to be Surgeon General. And we’re all supposed to think that this is just ducky.
You’ve got to be kidding me?
I’m tellin’ you all...
Just play some circus music when you read the news, makes things easier.
I remember this...he might make a decent Surgeon General, responsible for the U.S. Public Health Service, which is one of the oldest federal agencies in existence, originally charged with running marine hospitals, treating sick sailors, and battling disease epidemics.
What’s next? Oprah for Secretary of Education?
Much as I dislike Bam, this guy (Sanjay Gupta) is actually a MD.
During the first Gulf War, he was covering the war for CNN and actualy stepped in to help treat wounded soldiers.
He has a fairly distinguished resume for a doctor.
Did he clear this with his co-consuls- Bill and Hil?
I think Oprah is slotted for a East Lawn wind barrier slot.. she gets much bigger, she can be a sun shield too.
Gupta seems like a stand up guy and may be the cleanest of all of Obama’s nominations. I could give a thumbs up for this one at this time.
Come on.
He received both his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed his residency in neurological surgery within the University of Michigan Health System.
He’s assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
Save the criticisms for where and on they should be. Pretty qualified (even if its for a usless job like SG)
Seems petty to go after him.
Without regard to Sajay’s qualifications, it sure seems natural for Obama to make a pick from CNN.
Maybe Obama fell for him watching him host “Planet in Peril”.
Having worked with the U.S. Public Health Service, and knowing what I know about the agency, I would argue that Gupta’s background in medicine and journalism would in fact make him a very good candidate for the job for any number of reasons.
I do not believe Oprah has any teaching credentials where as Sanjay Gupta is a real Medical Doctor. Come on, this is simply a medical spokesman sort of job for which Dr. Gupta is obviously qualified. I think the real problem is the appearance of bias when it comes to CNN reporting on Obama but that is so obvious any way what difference does it make?
This is not so different than Tony Snow being appointed Press Secretary. I wish Tony would have come to the job sooner. I also ask myself what Tony would think of the Gupta appointment and my guess is Tony would have been cool with it. RIP Tony Snow.
Is he licensed to practice medicine in the U.S.?
Good Lord. This is becoming a circus
Dr. Phil must be heartbroken.
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