Paging Doctor... Surgeon General?

Yes, naming an experienced neurosurgeon with credentials in neurosurgery, psychiatry, neurosciences, full ranging media experiences in dealing with the press, experienced in combat surgery and the needs of combat medicine for a nation involved in two wars is exactly the same as Judge Judy, a retired city family court Judge, for the Supreme Court.
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And the false equivalency stupidity parade of our national media conversation continues unabated here at Chez Jay.

Casey's spot on. If you refrain from doing something for fear of providing an opportunity for easy, thoughtless criticism, nothing will be done – and the terrorists at FocksNooz will have won.

Two Rachel Ray zings right in a row, slow news day? CSPAN on repeat? Or is Rachel just making some non-ground meat dish right now?

Here's a tip, Jay--writing the phrase, "and I mean no disrespect here..." and then proceeding to compare Gupta to the virtual buffoons of their respective fields, does not actually absolve you of being disrespectful.
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Try to claim that it's not actually you who are being disrespectful, but other straw people who will walk through this imagined door of tiny mockery, does not absolve you of being disrespectful either.
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If your going to mock the guy, just do so, or you seem like a coward. If you think others will, just give it five minutes and you will have some member of the 101st Fighting Keyboard Squadron over at Redstate.com that will do it for you. Post the news of the Gupta pick, and then update with the rightwing response.
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Why bother to make yourself into a silly nitwit when the folks at Redstate are lining up to do it instead? You can still make your point and let them take the hit. This is one of the things that made Ana Marie good at blogging.

leaves the door open for a just a tiny bit of mockery. Judge Judy for the Supreme Court? Rachel Ray for White House chef? Flava Flav to head the the DEA! And, hey, Law & Order was one of Fred Thompson's top credentials in his presidential run.
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When "mockery" isn't funny, it kind of blows back on its source. Just a friendly tip.

Nancy Grace for Director of the Bureau of Missing White Girls!

Am I missing something? Isn't the SG a largely symbolic role whose main purpose is to inform and educate the public on relevant health issues? So what is the problem with nominating a telegenic board-certified surgeon with a background in education and reporting? Seems to me he has all of the right qualifications for the job. How this is equivalent to nominating Judge Judy to the SC is a little unclear.

As usual the blogosphere trying to stir up controversy where none really exists...

Jay Newton Small with the emphasis on small. Damn girl, it's not funny. Leave the humor to Franken or maybe pourmecoffee.

(Copious yawn)What Casey Morris said...did you know "some say" Dr. Gupta's appointment assists in the TimeWarner headcount reduction program?

Tony Snow for White House Press Secretary... Oh wait. You're really only open to ridicule if you're a Democrat.

Since you all have sufficiently ridiculed JNS' core premise, I'm going to take a different tack on this one. I think this is a very clever politically motivated move that will eliminate one impediment to national health care reform. I vividly remember how efficiently and blatantly Gupta served his corporate masters in nitpicking Michael Moore's "Sicko" to death. He created doubt about the veracity of a movie that was really quite accurate, and helped suppress the buzz it should have generated on a subject of great national interest.
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With Gupta in the administration, CNN will lose their "most trusted voice for corporate medicine."

texgator: As usual the blogosphere trying to stir up controversy where none really exists...
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No, as usual the msm is corrupting the blogosphere by trying to stir up controversy where none really exists.

wvng @11 hmmm interesting point, which deserves deeper thought. Thanks.

Wow, this is a bad decision. I've actually watched him so I know he's not qualified (I'm using that word in a broader sense; Please don't feel the need to point out his medical certification). Also, he has a bad record on health care. http://mediamatters.org/items/200707120001
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I won't truly believe this until I actually see Obama introducing him as the Surgeon General.

wvng
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I was just about to post about that "Sicko" stunt of Gupta's and how Moore PWNED his ass on Larry King. Damm we think alike lol.

Wow, this is a bad decision. I've actually watched him so I know he's not qualified (I'm using that word in a broader sense; Please don't feel the need to point out his medical certification).
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What the hell are you talking about?

I suppose naming Judge Judy as a justice to the Supreme Court would be as stupid as naming the governor of California to be chief justice, right? Oops that was done already:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren

I can only chime in with everyone else. Your only argument here JNS is that he's a tv-personality. Umm, so? Casey really lays out the best points for making the case. I mean really, who respects the SG in this country. Perhaps a TV personality who has the bona fides might actually get people to listen? Does that say more about the state of public policy on healthcare...hmm, that might be something to report on?

I know someone will post on this but Jeb Bush is not running for Senator in 2010. Says time is not right. I hate to crow, but I will! When this first came out I stated I heard Jeb is making too much money to want to run. This confirms this. I doubt he ever runs again for office.

Jim, Foolish Literalist, There have been many discussions about politicians on Swampland - Caroline Kennedy and Sarah Palin in particular - where someone has claimed that they're not qualified and another poster responded by quoting from the constitution to argue that they are in fact qualified. Obviously those of us who felt that Sarah Palin was not qualified for the Vice-Presidency understood that she was constitutionally qualified. Similarly I understand that as an MD with decent academic experience Gupta is qualified in a narrow sense to be Surgeon General. My comment was an (unsuccessful) attempt to bypass those "qualifications" discussions by specifying that I was talking about qualifications in a broader sense of the term.

Here is the the first PWNING when Gupta wasn't on with Moore.
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Jay, don't be dense.
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The surgeon general post is about health care communication. Gupta is a doctor and a journalist.
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Your post is just silly - "the guy is a brain surgeon and a medical professor, but he's been on TV so that makes him a celebrity and JUST LIKE FRED THOMPSON." Get a grip.

And now the MAINNNNNNNNNN EVENTTTTTTTTTT
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I'm with Rose on this one. He's apparently, from the "debunking" of Sicko, in the tank for the people who make their living denying access and denying claims. Replacing the for profit health care system with one that is actually effective is on Obama's short list. This appointment argues against his being successful at that.

I"m largely with texgator on this news -- it reflects a sharp awareness of the current role of the SG and matches that with someone with the right skills and public standing (including what seems to be high levels of public familiarity and "trust" in spite of having clearly enraged some for disagreeing with Michael Moore). The SG doesn't administer the health care system, the SG is the designated occupant of the health related bully pulpit. Gupta would do a good job, I think, and would probably make great use of YouTube type opportunities for getting health messages out.