Surgeon General Was Muzzled By White House

The surgeon general is the foremost authority on medical matters; when he speaks we heed his advice. He is the nation’s doctor; when he issues a press release it’s like he’s making a house call.
 
A pack of cigarettes carries the surgeon general’s warning that smoking is bad for your health. If cigarettes had a printed warning from God himself, “Thus saith the Lord, I will smite all smokers with cancer”, it would be less intimidating than the surgeon general’s admonition.
 
The surgeon general’s office should be completely free from politics; it’s the surgeon general’s responsibility to provide us with unbiased information on everything from obesity to AIDS.
 
The revelation that the Bush administration muzzled Surgeon General Richard Carmona throughout his four-year term is shocking. This is as outrageous as if Bush had ordered Santa Claus to deliver presents only to Republican households.
 
The following bullet points from TucsonCitizen.Com:
“Carmona, who left Washington after he was not offered a second term as surgeon general, testified this week that:
 
• Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.
 
• The administration would not allow him to issue reports on or speak about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education and mental health.
 
• His report on secondhand smoke, released as he was leaving office, was delayed for years. Officials also tried to water it down.
 
• He was ordered to mention Bush three times on each page of speeches.
 
• He was shut out of discussions on global warming because administration officials said it was a liberal cause and dismissed it.
 
• Administration officials in pettiness discouraged Carmona from attending the Special Olympics because a “prominent family” – the Democratic Kennedys – had longtime ties to it.”
 
President Bush’s silencing of the surgeon general is just one more proof that he is one of the worst presidents in history. By politicizing the office of the surgeon general the president compromised the health of the American population.
 
Is it any wonder that President George W. Bush’s ratings are in the gutter? The Surgeon General should issue a warning: Listening to Bush is dangerous to your mental health.