White House doing really stupid shit now

"Lab coats! Getcher lab coats here!"

OK, so you're a president whose signature initiative - health care reform - is in serious trouble because two thirds of Americans absolutely hate the idea, at least in its current form. You've talked until you were blue in the face, and even more people hate it. What do you do? Invite 150 practicing physicians to the White House Rose Garden for a photo-op on health care reform.

But what kind of photo-op would this be if you couldn't tell they were doctors? Won't 150 doctors look pretty much like 150 accountants or lawyers? Hey! Let's have a dress code for the event...the doctors must all wear their lab coats! So, that's exactly what they did. There was just one problem:

The physicians, all invited guests, were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image.

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.

So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

Well, maybe there was one more problem:

Dr. Eric Novack of Phoenix, AZ, was one of the 50 doctors invited to the White House photo op today. But he turned down the invitation, because he has lead the fight to pass state legislation and constitutional amendments to prohibit individual insurance mandates.

“They had 16 hours to Google me, but I guess no one bothered,” Dr. Novack told Kathryn Serkes, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in a video interview available at www.TakeBackMedicine.com.

Dr. Novack says that it was very tempting to accept the “once-in-a-lifetime” invitation, but in the end, he had to say no. But it also makes him question whether the doctors who will be there today actually support the President, or even understand all of the details of the bills.

“Are these doctors just star-struck, or do they have real knowledge about what they are supporting?” asked Serkes. “It’s looking like another dog-and-pony-show, and doctors should not be used in this shameful manner. First the President vilifies them, now he wants their help.”

Who knows how many more of those 150 physicians weren't actual supporters of the President's health care plan?

Anyway, this whole episode is just further evidence of just how low an opinion this administration has of Americans that they think we're going to be dazzled by a bunch of white lab coats.