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Krugman & Newsbusters Don't Approve of Gupta Pick
January 07, 2009 12:40 PM
Nobel Prize-winning liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman doesn't seem a fan of Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be Surgeon General -- because of an interview Gupta did with Michael Moore about Moore's film about the health care industry in the U.S., "Sicko."
"Gupta specifically claimed that Moore 'fudged his facts'," Krugman writes, "when the truth was that on every one of the allegedly fudged facts, Moore was actually right and CNN was wrong."
As USA Today covered in 2007, Gupta in a report erroneously accused Moore of saying that Cuba spends $25 per person for health care when in fact Moore had put the price at $251.
Moore had protested that Gupta interviewed Paul Keckley of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions to help "fact check" Sicko, noting that Keckley had given money to GOP politicians and organizations in the past. Deloitte's chairman is former GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, President Bush's former Secretary of Health and Human Services. Moore said that constituted a conflict of interest.
In a debate against Moore on Larry King, Gupta said that Keckley's "only affiliation is with Vanderbilt University. We checked it, Michael. We checked his conflict of interest. We do ask those questions."
Actually, Keckley had left Vanderbilt.
Some conservative commentators are also starting to question the Gupta pick, noting that the TV commentator, in reviewing Sen. John McCain's medical records for CBS, said, "there was hardly any mention of his mental health. There was no mention of depression. You know, this is man who had two admittedly weak suicide attempts when he was a prisoner of war. There was no mention of post-traumatic stress disorder or anything that may have been asked, or substance abuse, none of that was even mentioned."
-- jpt
January 7, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (27)
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gupta has NO experience managing anyone, yet he's going to run the 6000 person surgeon generals office?
Stupid pick
and if gupta was going to question addiction, shouldn't he have questioned obamas' drug use, and his ongoing nicotine and crackberry addictions?
stupid pick
Posted by: Tra la la | Jan 7, 2009 1:26:05 PM
newsbusters is an awesome website, funny Jake mentioned it, although, they have said some good things about the liberal Jake Tapper
Posted by: MSN exposed | Jan 7, 2009 1:23:51 PM
This is AL-Bamas way of raising taxes on the poor.. this pick wants a tax on fat people..lmao this is another AL-Bama poor judgement, God how many more must we endure Richardson, Blago, Panetta, and now its being reported that Norman HSU is going to be tied to Al-Bama and a possible ponzi scheme when he goes on trial for fraud
Posted by: MSN exposed | Jan 7, 2009 1:21:39 PM
PPaul man, I am a little disappointed in you.
You need to see the bigger picture man. It took almost 2 decades for people to see reason in your economic theories. Chill out man. You were wrong on some counts, just like Sanjay may have been wrong on some counts. You guys are the only pioneers Libs have to be proud of so don't screw it up with this squabble.
As for Moore he may be a little wacko but he is what we need to keep Repubs in check.
Posted by: Steve_NJ | Jan 7, 2009 1:20:54 PM
Moore is good but a big wise ass, Krugman is a self absorbed hack.
Gupta is an excetlent pick to elevate the surgeon general to someone we will listen to.
Posted by: watching | Jan 7, 2009 1:11:56 PM
Our country is so polarized. Hacks on both sides, no one acting in the best interest of the whole nation. We are doomed.
Posted by: We are screwed | Jan 7, 2009 1:10:00 PM
Now I find myself on the same side as old "Flat Earth" Krugman. That is a surprise.
I do not think that we need a low down snake like Gupta as SG. The McCain comment is as bad as can be.
Posted by: smith | Jan 7, 2009 12:59:54 PM
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