"I’m biased towards nurses, I just like nurses."

Jillian Bandes | March 26, 2009 12:51 PM

I'm frankly astounded as to how the Prez could use anecdotal evidence about the care his daughter received when she had meningitis to lobby for an increased presence of nurses during labor talks, and then accidentally take a hit on those with an M.D. During Obama's "Virtual Town Hall Meeting" he said that doctors were great, but that the nurses were the ones who were there "around the clock," providing the most -- and what sounded like best -- care. The implication was that nurses were the ones that counted, and doctors were the soul-less rich guys hanging around to deliver the bad news.

How insulting! Yes, Prez. It's true. Nurses are more hands-on than doctors in that situation. But what about the appalling dearth of primary care physicians, which threatens the ability of nurses to give the care in the first place? Or the fact that many illnesses only require the care of doctors, so you never even get face time with a nurse at all? Or the possibility that doctors actually have the capacity to be just as caring as nurses? Or that not all nurses are so great? Or that your bias towards blue collar workers smacks of liberal guilt? Ugh.

I'm also not impressed by the White House's "online town hall" rigamarole overall. Over 104,104 questions were submitted, and he answered exactly 7. It's just very fitting with his rhetoric-before-action approach. The majority of the talk was used to sell his spending agenda, with more "if we invest now, we'll get [uncertain, untested, probably negative] paybacks later." Rah-rah.