“Always been this administration’s position that public health policy be rooted in sound science." [View All]

[BurtWorm]

:spray:

A Bushist spokesperson on former surgeon general Richard Carmona's testimony today about ways the Bush administration insisted on politicizing Carmona's office.

This is really the Chutzpah Administration--and contrary to what Alan Dershowitz may say, chutzpah (shamelessness, unmitigated gall) is nothing to be proud of:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11surgeon.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

...

Bill Hall, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said that the administration disagreed with Dr. Carmona’s statements. “It has always been this administration’s position that public health policy should be rooted in sound science,” Mr. Hall said.

Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the surgeon general “is the leading voice for the health of all Americans.”

“It’s disappointing to us,” Mr. Lawrimore said, “if he failed to use this position to the fullest extent in advocating for polices he thought were in the best interests of the nation.”

Dr. Carmona is one of a growing list of present and former administration officials to charge that politics often trumped science within what had previously been largely nonpartisan government health and scientific agencies.


...

In his testimony, Dr. Carmona said that at first he was so politically naïve that he had little idea how inappropriate the administration’s actions were. He eventually consulted six previous surgeons general, Republican and Democratic, and all agreed, he said, that he faced more political interference than they had.

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