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A friend just called from America to talk about Obama’s appointment of a fat woman, Dr Regina Benjamin, as surgeon general. “I guess I can’t use the phrase ‘elephant in the room’, but this raises some very, very delicate issues,” she said. As Alex Spillius reports, America’s new top doctor has been strongly criticised by health lobbyists for her weight. But my American friend has noticed that some people are already making a connection between Dr Benjamin’s embarrassing weight problem and the fact that she’s African-American. They should be careful. You see, while the obesity of poor whites and red-state...

Critics of Mr Obama's choice of Dr Benjamin as America's new top doctor have highlighted the awkward fact that while eminently qualified she is also overweight and her new job will involve encouraging her countrymen to lead healthier lives. Disparaging online comments following her introduction at the White House last week have been supported by medical specialists questioning her credibility as a health advocate in a country where 34 per cent of over-20s are obese. "We want to influence young people to live a healthy lifestyle and be physically active and eat healthy food," said Lillie Shockney, director of the...

Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, Obama's pick for the next surgeon general, was hailed as a MacArthur Grant genius who had championed the poor at a medical clinic she set up in Katrina-ravaged Alabama. But the full-figured African-American nominee is also under fire for being overweight in a nation where 34 percent of all Americans aged 20 and over are obese. Critics and supporters across the blogsphere have commented on photos of Benjamin's round cheeks, saying she sends the wrong message as the public face of America's health initiatives. But others support the 52-year-old founder and CEO of Bayou La Batre...

Regina M. Benjamin grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and attended a Catholic elementary school in her home town of Daphne, Ala., nestled along the Gulf Coast. Benjamin, President Obama's pick to be surgeon general, attends Mass regularly and has received an award from Pope Benedict XVI and another inspired by Mother Teresa. But the Alabama country doctor also backs Obama's position on reproductive health issues, a position that potentially could put her at odds with the Catholic Church.

White House: Like Obama, Surgeon General Nominee Benjamin Pro-Abortion Washington, DC -- White House officials have confirmed that President Barack Obama's nominee for Surgeon General may be a Catholic, but agrees with his pro-abortion position. Regina Benjamin is a well-regarded Alabama physician who has been honored by the Catholic Church for helping poor residents of her state. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5220.html

Let’s face it….all seemed so innocent yesterday as we saw Regina Benjamin nominated as Surgeon General of the United States by Barack Hussein Obama…here was this rural doctor from Alabama, this champion of non-profit healthcare…a doctor who herself was a victim of Hurricane Katrina. Well folks, what I have found out about our President is this - nothing is innocent and nothing isn’t calculated. It’s all about pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fitting into the finished product and quite frankly, more and more Americans are waking up to the fact that the finished product is uglier than sin. We might...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama turned to the Deep South for the next surgeon general, a rural Alabama family physician who made headlines with fierce determination to rebuild her nonprofit medical clinic in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. An administration official said Obama will announce the nomination of Dr. Regina Benjamin later Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the official announcement.

Dr. Regina Benjamin poses for a portrait in the waiting room at her temporary clinic in Bayou La Batre, Ala., last September. (CNS/courtesy MacArthur Foundation) Dr. Regina Benjamin, a member of the board of trustees of the Catholic Health Association, is being nominated as surgeon general this morning.We had this story on Benjamin last fall, when she received a MacArthur fellowship for her work with medical clinics in poverty-stricken areas of Alabama.Benjamin did her undergraduate studies at Xavier University in New Orleans and in a 2005 speech she talked about the Catholic parish she grew up in, and how her...

Obama Surgeon General Pick Regina Benjamin Wanted Docs to Learn Abortions Washington, DC -- President Barack Obama named Alabama physician Regina Benjamin as the next Surgeon General of the United States. Benjamin is an African-American doctor who is known for rebuilding her medical clinic after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and then ravaged by fire in 2006. However, Benjamin has also urged that future physicians be trained to learn how to perform abortions. See http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5208.html

Regina Benjamin, the youngest doctor and first black woman admitted to the American Medical Association, is President Obama's pick to be surgeon general. ------ snip ------

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) is leading an effort to remove CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta from consideration as the next U.S. surgeon general. The senior Democrat, a major proponent of universal healthcare, is infuriated that Gupta, who opposes such a plan, would be appointed by President-elect Obama to serve in the incoming administration. Conyers intended to call Obama directly Thursday afternoon to voice his concern. On Wednesday night, he sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to gather support for his cause.

Washington, DC -- Incoming president Barack Obama appears to be expanding on the steady stream of abortion advocates he is appointing to top administration posts. His latest choice appears to be pro-abortion CNN medical reporter Sanjay Gupta to become the next Surgeon General. Although Gupta spends most of his time reporting rather than opining on the topics of the day, he appears to favor abortions.

President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general, the cable news network said Tuesday. CNN said it has kept Gupta from reporting on health care policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post. Two Democrats with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot said Gupta was under consideration but cautioned there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the...

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...