This Unscrupulous Creep As Surgeon General?

Media Matters did a great article or two on the subject. They really went after Gupta.

I got a new pic up on my site comparing his headshot with Shatner, Hasselhoff and others. it's funny

True, Michael Moore pointed out some things that he found to be inaccurate in the CNN report, and Gupta apologized for the biggest blunder, which was his misquoting Moore in the film as saying that Cuba spends $25 per person on health care, when the figure Moore had cited was actually $251. Gupta said it was due to a transcription error, which is not impossible to believe, but which was certainly irresponsible and destructive for CNN to have allowed to air in a major story like that. But Gupta also made some legitimate criticisms of Moore's reporting in a follow up interview on Larry King. I actually agree with Gupta that, if indeed Moore got the $251 from a particular BBC report, then it was irresponsible for him turn around and consult a different source, which would have based its statistics on different variables, to come up with his contrasting figure of $7000 for U.S. spending. I agree with Gupta that when citing statistics you have to compare apples to apples and not use a report for one statistic that you like and then reject another number from within the same table in the report that says something different from what you'd like it to say. I felt the same way that Larry King did when he asked Moore why he was so mad at Gupta, since his criticisms seemed so insignificant compared to the ways in which he agreed with him. Now, if CNN hyped it saying "Sanjay Gupta Smacks down Sicko," I have a problem with that. I also think that it was unconscionable for CNN to ignore the email Moore sent to Gupta producer Chris Gajilan correcting the errors in the story, thereby allowing Anderson Cooper to run it unedited the very next night without addressing any of the corrections Moore brought up in the email.

I would like to know more about Sanjay Gupta and in particular, whether there's any reason to think that he would be going into the Obama administration with the intention of blocking universal health care coverage. So far, nothing in the video posted on this web site or in the Larry King debate with Moore leads me to believe that he has such an agenda. What Moore and Gupta agree on is that it's unacceptable to have thousands of people in this country going without health care because they can't pay for it. They may not agree on the means to provide care for everyone, but if Obama is what he is presenting himself to be, maybe he will have both Moore and Gupta working on this to find out a way to provide health care for all and also avoid some of the problems that may exist in other countries that already have universal health care. I wouldn't want to silence either of these intelligent men without first considering what they have to say. Hopefully Obama has the ability to listen to contrasting views and then make up his own mind about the best course to follow. At least, judging from his rhetoric, be believes that it is a good idea to be open to different opinions before setting policy.

It is worth seeing the Moore/Gupta debate on Larry King for an example of two well informed, articulate experts engaging in an intelligent debate on a vital issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR2U_SAWHdQ&feature=related

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