Gupta Ends Surgeon General Candidacy
By Gardiner Harris for the New York Times—
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon, has withdrawn from being considered for surgeon general, CNN reported on Thursday.
Several other candidates are now under serious consideration, including Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, according to people who have been briefed on the situation.
Dr. Gupta had been approached by the Obama transition team and discussed the job with President-elect Barack Obama late last year in Chicago. An administration official said in an e-mail message to reporters that Dr. Gupta had been under “serious consideration” and added, “We know he will continue to serve and educate the public.”
Dr. Gupta’s wife, Rebecca Olson Gupta, is expecting a child, and Dr. Gupta wants to spend more time with his family and continue practicing medicine and serving as a CNN correspondent, the CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said on Thursday.
from “Staging Dr. Gupta,” on agilog, 3/6/09
“With hard facts on his side or not, Gupta’s demonstrated “he’s just not that into” UHC and is probably heading off an embarrassing-Judd-Gregg-like resignation. Or maybe it’s tax “inconsistencies” he’d rather not air.
Better to find someone serious. The Surgeon General is going to be in the middle of a raging battle. No doubt it’ll be a blood-bath, but hopefully everyone will have access to healthcare by the time it’s over.”