Politics over facts everytime
White House blocked surgeon general’s report
A Republican political appointee with close White House ties has blocked a 2006 report by the US surgeon general that called for action to tackle global health problems because the document did not promote the administration’s policy accomplishments, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
Citing current and former public health officials, the newspaper said the report described the link between poverty and poor health and urged the US government to help combat widespread diseases as a key aim of its foreign policy.
Carmona told lawmakers that, as he fought to release the document, he was “called in and again admonished … via a senior official who said, ‘You don’t get it,’” according to The Post.
He said a senior official told him that “this will be a political document, or it will not be released.”</em>
Stories such as this about the Bush admin are many, which begs the question. If you focus so much of your attention on putting the right spin on everything- and you still end up with your party defeated in the ‘06 elections, sure to lose the White House in ‘08, and the lowest approval ratings since Nixon- who exactly are you attempting to spin? Because whoever it is, they ain’t buying it.
