Dr. Gupta Accused of Malpractice

At first, he seemed like the perfect candidate. He’s the most popular TV doc ever: CNN’s handsome, articulate, energetic, personable Sanjay Gupta. He’s both a noted neurosurgeon and a media star. Who better to serve the nation as surgeon general?

I admit, when I first heard that he was Obama’s choice for surgeon general, I had a heart flutter. Perfect choice! But then other voices, who knew Sanjay Gupta better than I, started speaking out.

Leading the chorus, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who noted that Gupta was a longtime critic of universal healthcare. Why should Obama’s most visible healthcare advocate, asked Conyers, be someone opposed to universal healthcare — which both Obama and incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Daschle support? Good question!

Then came Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, who pointed out that Gupta went out of his way to attack filmmaker Michael Moore for his documentary “Sicko.” Yet, on every point, Moore proved he was right on his facts — and Gupta was wrong.

And then it was revealed that Dr. Gupta has financial ties to — meaning: he’s taken a lot of money from — many major pharmaceutical companies for saying good things about their drugs.

The more we learn about Sanjay Gupta, in other words, the more questions have been raised about his qualifications for surgeon general. Indeed, enough questions have been raised about this appointment for Barack Obama to reconsider and name someone else, perhaps lesser-known — but better-qualified.

Visit Mr. Press’s website at billpressshow.com.