Worst Reason Ever For Anything

Dr. Regina Benjamin, Obama's pick for Surgeon General, has an outstanding record across the board.

Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, is Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. She is the Immediate Past-Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. In 2002, she became President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, making her the first African American woman to be president of a State Medical Society in the United States. Dr. Benjamin holds a BS in Chemistry from Xavier University, New Orleans. She was in the 2nd class at Morehouse School of Medicine and received her MD degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, as well as an MBA from Tulane University. She completed her residency in family medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Dr. Benjamin received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998, and was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in 1995, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. Dr. Benjamin was previously named by Time Magazine as one of the “Nation’s 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under.” She was also featured in a New York Times article, “Angel in a White Coat”, as “Person of the Week” on ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and as “Woman of the Year” by CBS This Morning. She received the 2000 National Caring Award which was inspired by Mother Teresa, as well as the papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Benedict XVI. She is also a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award.

But none of that matters, apparently. She's unqualified for the post of Surgeon General because she's too heavy.

No. Seriously.

But the full-figured African-American nominee is also under fire for being overweight in a nation where 34 percent of all Americans aged 20 and over are obese.

Critics and supporters across the blogsphere have commented on photos of Benjamin's round cheeks, saying she sends the wrong message as the public face of America's health initiatives.

Are you kidding me? Are you f'ckin joking? You cannot be serious. The Village hates anyone associated with Obama so much that we're actually having the debate if one of the most brilliant doctors America has on its shores is too overweight for the post of Surgeon General?

Even some of the most reputable names in medicine chimed in.

"I think it is an issue, but then the president is said to still smoke cigarettes," said Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine who is now a senior lecturer at Harvard University Medical School. "It tends to undermine her credibility."

"We don't know how much she weighs and just looking at her I would not say she is grotesquely obese or even overweight enough to affect her health," Angell told ABCNews.com.

"But I do think at a time when a lot of public health concern is about the national epidemic of obesity, having a surgeon general who is noticeably overweight raises questions in people's minds," she added.

The potential for hypocrisy bothered others.

"When a teenager listens to this person I want them to listen and respond in a positive way," said Lillie Shockney, administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center. "Not say ho-hum and then drive to a fast food place."

Oh, screw that. That is by far the most idiotic, puerile, insulting, moronic, heartbreakingly stupid piece of The Stupid that I, Zandar, have ever been Versus. The Village can't find a real reason to oppose her nomination, so we're going to go with concern trolling about how her body image affects America as Surgeon General?

That's it? That's your trial balloon angle of attack? Let's fire all doctors who do not meet the Body Mass Index standards. Shitcan any doctor who has ever had a drink, a smoke, or a greasy burger in a public restaruant or a party. Hell, I saw a doctor buy a box of Count Chocula once at the grocery store. I demand her job!

I'll tell you the message Regina Benjamin would send Americans, that a truly good, talented, brilliant physician is leading the way into public service, not for money, but to help people. That a strong, intelligent Black woman from the South can hold one of the most distinguished posts in arguably one of the world's most distinguished professions...to add to her many distinguished posts and positions she has already earned through her hard work. That we aren't judging the worth of a human being by their clothing size or by the unrealistic body images that the media portrays for both men and women, but especially women. That's the message Regina Benjamin would send as Surgeon General.

Yeah, America needs to lose weight. But if 40 pounds over disqualifies you for the job, then i know a hell of a lot of Washington and the Village who need to quit too.

Good god, I am disgusted. The article at least has the fig leaf of talking to those who support Dr. Benjamin.

"I am appalled that this amount of bias and discrimination exist regarding large people," said Steven Blair, professor of exercise science at Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina. "The focus should be on Dr. Benjamin's credentials and accomplishments. What difference does her size make?"

None. Unless you're a Villager looking to make your bones off attacking her, and Obama by proxy. Assholes. Seriously.