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| 'A Necklace of Tonsils' |
| 2009-10-07 |
| At the top of Impromptus today, I have an item on that health-care stunt that Obama and his people pulled: They had a bunch of docs, and medical students, at the White House, for a little pep talk (or something) from the president. Some of the people were cloddish enough to show up in suits and dresses. They had been asked to wear white coats. No problem, though: The Obama people simply passed out white coats for the inappropriately attired to wear. The pictures would be prettier that way: All those white-coated docs, listening to their president wax wise on medicine. As I say in my column, I don't mind a little Deaverism -- goes with the territory, of politics and even of governance. But I also say, What would you have done, if you had been at the White House? Would you have put on the white coat, so that Obama could have his pretty pictures, or would you have said, "Actually, that's what I wear when I'm working, not when I'm visiting the White House to hear the president"? A doctor reader of ours responds, I would never have gone in the first place. The people who attended were obviously signing up to be stage props: They would probably have dressed as clowns or Napoleon or Captain Jack Sparrow if asked. Hard to know why any self-respecting physician would sign up to glorify the (very bad) plans of a man who has a manifest distaste for our profession. Maybe I should have attended wearing a necklace of tonsils that I had removed for ill-gotten profits. A necklace of tonsils -- nicely expressed. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #3 Dang, I was hoping for a sea of latex gloves... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-10-07 21:58 |
| #2 "oh, and you have to wear a stethoscope!" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-10-07 18:44 |
| #1 OK, there are a bunch of people from the health profession who show up at the Rose Garden without proper attire. I go to a wedding, I dress according to the people hosting the event, I would imagine as much for a visit to the White House to meet the President, and they forgot their lab coats as directed to wear? And its not that the makup corp had a handful but many extra lab coats available. Could it be that many of them attended as successful representatives and not as props on purpose? I would feel disrespected to show up and be made to wear the same costume as the people who try to sell toothpaste and chewing gum on TV instead of my own accomplishments. The other side of the coin, did the producer(s) think that if the attendees were not in costume viewers would doubt they were in the medical field? And what does that say? Imagine, dedicating yourself to the medical profession and in honor of a lifetime of work highlighted by a personal invite to the Rose Garden turned into a stereotyped cut-out. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-10-07 15:52 |