re: We have a Surgeon General now

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Not true of course.

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What power does the SG have?

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What power does the SG have?

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The power of the pulpit first and foremost. A respected SG can hold sway over nearly any aspect USHealthcare. This fellow will have little of that. So in his case, his power per se will be relegated to oversight of military medical readiness.

Are you going to ignore the post in which I mentioned his qualifications or keep saying saying his only medical qualification to note is his completion of residency 8 years ago?

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The power of the pulpit first and foremost

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That's not power to forge legislation or determine how budgets are handled. Rush Limbaugh has more power of the pulpit than the SG. All the SG does is tell people 'don't smoke' 'don't get fat'. And no one listens. It's a meaningless position.

Seems like a terrible appointment.

The guy in that post should be old enough to shave.

That's awfully dismissive of his Yale and Harvard records, much less AOA. And 8 years post residency is not enough experience? WTF sort of criteria do you think a surgeon general must fit?

ETA: I guess people on this board thinks only 40+ are qualified to comment on basic medical conditions in the US

The surgeon general does not set the pace for medicine. The head of the NIH does vastly more important work than the surgeon general. The surgeon general talks about the general health concerns in America. They do not practice, they dont do research. They are figureheads.

You don't need 10+ years to know diabetes, heart disease and obesity is ruining the country.

And your example is not analogous. There is an age restriction on presidential candidates. There is none for surgeon general.

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There is a reason we don't let people under 35 run for president.

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Why is that?

Is it because they aren't qualified, lack experience, etc.?

If that's the case, we've done a pretty shitty job choosing people over 35 who fit those requirements.

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They are figureheads.

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So is the First Lady. It's not about having the power to create policy, it's the power to shape policy.

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That's why we haven't missed having one for a year

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So IYO for example, Ebola was handled well?

Look, you're correct that having this fellow in the position a year ago would have probably made no difference. He's likely going to functionally be an empty suit. Then again, we can speculate regarding hypothetical what-ifs all day long. There's no way to know.

We do have ongoing international military medical initiatives. Those would normally fall under the USSG. They are currently being overseen by the responsible branch Surgeon General, presumably the Army SG. As an aside, for the first time in US history that individual, the Surgeon General of the United States Army, is not a physician. Probably makes no difference either, eh? We should be fine winging it.

As you'd say, a US General in the medical corps is just a figurehead after all. Experience and expertise in any of those positions should be totally irrelevant. Certainly was true for the position of Commander-in-Chief.