Sanjay Gupta Withdraws as Surgeon General Nominee

Sure are a lot of flakes, as well as a lot of nominees with tax problems. This seems to be a second thought (flake) issue but who knows. Maybe CNN gave him a raise. I guess Larry King will have the scoop:

Newser: Sanjay Gupta is sticking with CNN and brain surgery. Gupta has withdrawn his name from contention to be the next surgeon general, the network reports. No word why, other than a desire to focus on his family and career. He'll discuss it on Larry King Live tonight.

Others under consideration for the position include Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.

Obama Picks Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General

Update 7-14: Obama picks Regina Benjamin
Update 3-5: Gupta withdraws.

CNN says Obama's pitch to Sanjay Gupta is that he could help explain arcane healthcare matters to the public. 

WaPo: President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

What does the surgeon general do?

The Office of the Surgeon General, under the direction of the Surgeon General, oversees the operations of the 6,000-member Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and provides support for the Surgeon General in the accomplishment of his other duties. The Office is part of the Office of Public Health and Science in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Tom Daschle would be his boss.
Here is his bio at CNN:

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is chief medical correspondent for the health and medical unit at CNN. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery, plays an integral role in the network's medical coverage, which includes lead reporting on breaking medical news, regular health and medical updates for American Morning, anchoring the half-hour weekend medical affairs program House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and reporting for CNN documentaries.

Based in Atlanta, Gupta also contributes health news stories to CNN.com and CNNHealth.com, co-hosts “Accent Health” for Turner Private Networks, provides medical segments for the syndicated version of ER on TNT, writes a column for TIME magazine, anchors the global health program Vital Signs for CNN International and is featured in a weekly podcast on health issues called "Paging Dr. Gupta."

Gupta joined CNN in the summer of 2001 and became part of the network team covering the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and led breaking news reporting on the anthrax attacks later that year.

In 2003, Gupta reported from Iraq and Kuwait as an embedded correspondent with the U.S. Navy’s medical unit, the "Devil Docs." He provided viewers with exclusive reports from points along the unit's travel to Baghdad and provided live coverage from a desert operating room of the first operation performed during the war and also performed brain surgery five times himself. Besides his battlefield medicine coverage, Gupta also reported from Kuwait immediately after a low-flying missile hit a Kuwaiti shopping mall.

More on Gupta.
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