Paging Dr. Gupta!

If you have spent any time in a doctor's waiting room in the last 3 or 4 years, chances are you've seen Dr. Sanjay Gupta in an endless video loop. If not, you may have read him in Time magazine, or seen him on Anderson Cooper. With his CNN show, talking head appearances on NPR and ubiquitous media presence, he became somewhat of a running joke in my family.

Now it appears that Dr. Gupta may have to give up the small screen for Washington's big stage with his recent nomination as Surgeon General. Gupta is no dummy. He is a White House fellow and a neurosurgeon. But his nomination has drawn criticism from Democratic congressman John Conyers, among others. Like me, Conyers is probably having a rough time disassociating Gupta the Dr. from Gupta the media whore. Conyers has raised questions about his experience running a federal agency...and the potential credibility gap that could arise because Sanjay has never been a member of the National Health Service Corp.

But let's set Conyer's criticism aside, for a second, and look at what Gupta does bring to this job. He is very media savvy and could prove to be a very potent spokesperson for the nation's greatest health issues. He has served as medical counsel to Hillary Clinton on health care issues (maybe she is the one who recommended him?). And, cynically, he is another cog in Obama's ethnically diversified government machine (though Gupta is actually American, not Indian).

So...while I initially chuckled over this nomination...after 10 minutes reflection, I'm willing to give Obama the doubt. After all, Gupta wouldn't be the first celebrity SG...who can forget C Everett Koop?