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Thu Jul 12 21:42:53 BST 2007

Here is what Dr. Carmona's hometown newspaper, the Tucson Citizen, has
to say today:
Connie Potter

Our Opinion: Muzzling Dr. Carmona

There are many disturbing aspects in Dr. Richard Carmona's testimony on
his four-year term as U.S. surgeon general. 

Most upsetting is Carmona's contention that the Bush administration
disseminated science - whether about global warming, emergency
contraception or secondhand smoke - to the public only after running it
through a political filter. 

The Tucsonan testified before a congressional committee Tuesday about
his 2002-06 term as surgeon general, exposing one more piece of the Bush
administration's relentless commitment to politics over all else. 

The underlying theme of Carmona's testimony was that politics trumped
science in what had been nonpartisan governmental agencies. 

In Carmona, Bush had a man with extraordinary experience in health and
science, and the president and his underlings wasted that experience. 

Carmona, who left Washington after he was not offered a second term as
surgeon general, testified this week: 

* 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. 

The report that Carmon had been muzzled by political operatives is
hardly news to those who know him. 

As a trauma surgeon, hospital director and sheriff's SWAT team member in
Pima County, he was always outspoken and an indefatigable advocate of
medicine and of his professions. He was flamboyant, daring, stubborn and
controversial. 

When he was nominated in 2002, we opined that Carmona "has a habit of
shaking up moribund and inefficient bureaucracies. He challenges the
powerful when he thinks they are wrong and stands up to any resulting
flak with unwavering aplomb." 

Bush cited those very traits when he selected Carmona to be the nation's
top doctor. In his nomination, the president called Carmona "an
experienced voice to help educate Americans about precautions and
response to the threat of bioterrorism." 

But political underlings stifled that "experienced voice," reducing him
to virtual silence.

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Muzzling Dr. Carmona