White Coats at the White House: Faked Photo Op

"I'm not a real doctor, but I play one at the White House--see, I have the white coat to prove it!"

Obama wants you to believe that doctors support his disastrous health care plan. So he invited 150 physicians to meet and "show their support" of his plan yesterday in the Rose Garden. Evidently along with their invitation, they were given the instruction to bring their white lab coats with them. Everyone knows that doctors wear white lab coats, right? Not all of the physicians complied with the asinine White House dress code, so those who didn't were handed white coats by White House aides. "Clumsy staging" is what HotAir calls it.

Before - White House aides hand out white lab coats

After - Doctors sitting like good do-bees in their white coats

So who was invited to be part of this empty photo op with the President? When one physician who was invited asked for more details, he was told that the White House was looking for representatives from each of the fifty states who were supportive of the President's plan. Evidently this sort of heavy-handed dog and pony show is what passes for substance these days at the White House. One wonders why the planners didn't just invite 150 good-looking, clean people of diverse racial background from Central Casting to make up the audience. Why waste these people's time.

"Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do," Obama told his guests. Well, champ, nobody has less credibility than you. Underlying the strictly photo-op nature of the event, the AP noted that Obama broke no new ground in his remarks.

Three physicians not supportive of the plan were invited on Fox News to discuss their views of ObamaCare. Click here to watch the Fox video of an interview by Steve Ducey at Fox and Friends, who said that the guest list "drew heavily from Doctors for America. Dr. Manny Alverez, an OB/Gyn physician and one of those being interviewed, said that he doesn't wear a white coat "because it's full of bacteria." Ducey asked the doctors, had you been invited, "and of course you weren't, what would you have told the President?" Tort reform, cracking down on corruption in the Medicare program, and concern about overload when we add 40 million new patients to the system were among their remarks.

Fox News also reported (alas, if they didn't, who would?) that not all of the 150 physicians who showed up supported ObamaCare. Some physicians attended thinking it was an opportunity to have discussions with Obama about his plan, but then found out that he wanted them only for a photo-op so he could claim that "physicians agree" the Obama health care plan is the best plan for the country. If we had real journalists in this country, maybe one of them would seek out a non-supporter for an interview. Don't hold your breath--it could be corrosive to your health.

Republicans had something to say about yesterday's White House Rose Garden show. One of them was Rep. Tom Price (R., Georgia), an orthopedic surgeon, who said, "Today, the president wants you to believe that the medical community supports his government takeover of health care. Don't be fooled." He said he has spoken to "thousands" of colleagues who do not support ObamaCare. Obama would be the first to report that the AMA supports his plan. Well, the dirty little secret with that one is that doctors don't support the AMA--only about 18% of physicians in this country belong to the organization.

Exit Questions: Who is the new White House Costume Czar? Does the Costume Czar dress up Obama every day and say, "Get out there and act presidential"? Maybe the Costume Czar will provide clown suits for Pelosi's next presser?

Best Post of the Day at HotAir: I hope Obama gives a speech soon at an Indian reservation and they pass out those big feather headdresses and some plastic tomahawks.

Update: Exerpts from Obama's speech in front of his hand-picked physician audience. Notice how he starts out by saying he's listened to and heard all the arguments. Then he goes on to characterize the other side as "crazy" and "misleading," full of "noise" and "distractions." Yeah, that's a guy who's really listening.

At this point we're heard all of the arguments on both sides of the aisle. We have listened to every charge and every counter-charge--from the crazy claims about death panels to misleading warnings about a government takeover of our health care system. But when you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think that what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very professionals who know the health care system best: the doctors and nurses of America.

And that's how the argument is framed on the Left: ObamaCare is "reform" and anyone who isn't for ObamaCare is against reform and wants to do nothing to change the present health care system.

Update: Obama likes to say that the AMA supports ObamaCare. What he doesn't bother to say is that only 18% of doctors belong to the AMA.

By the way, nurses don't think much of ObamaCare either.