The Edisto Joe Outlook: "TAKE A COAT...TAKE A SEAT!"

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

"TAKE A COAT...TAKE A SEAT!"

The President once again turns to the cameras of the media to push his bid for a public option in the health care bill. Yesterday he invited some 150 doctors to the White House to be with him when he faced the cameras. All of them were supposedly Obama supporters. There was however, a problem. It seems that not all the doctors got the memo reminding them to wear white coats. Not to worry though, the President's staff happened to find a supply of white coats in varying sizes for the doctors that didn't have one. Once that little glitch was solved, the President flanked by white coats on each side of the podium, faced a sea of white in the audience and delivered his message.

This was not a meeting with the medical community to discuss the pros and cons of the health care debate. These doctors were used as props so the message would take on a more official appearance to the public. Many of the doctors thought they were there to talk health care with the President and were a little confused when White House staffers came up to them with the question, "Where's you're coat?" Additional video footage shows staff workers out in the seated audience handing out the whites to anyone seated who wasn't wearing one. You can imagine the line they used... "Here, we need you to put this on and be a doctor for one hour."

It seemed a bit peculiar that the President was singing praises to this group for their service to society, when a month ago he was railing them for being part of the problem by performing unnecessary tests, and operations, driving up health costs unnecessarily. He also praised them for adhering to the "oath" they took to practice medicine and how disheartening it must be not to be able to supply the best medical treatment for all their patients. This is the same Hippocratic Oath that his health care advisor Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel has written about as being a part of the health care dilemma because it may be linked to reasons some doctors keep patients alive longer than necessary. (see:jama.ama-assn.org/)

The President doesn't want health care reform, he wants a public option run by the government and will go to any length to get it. His union pals are counting on it. They need the government to step in and bail them out from the mess they've made with their own health care system. More Obama political payback to the few placed on the backs of the whole. If he was really wanting to get a group of doctors together and discuss health care, he might consider some of the 1000 or so that marched on 9/12 against his health agenda.

Edisto Joe