Gupta said pick for surgeon general

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

Gupta has told Obama transition officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is underway. He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer.

When reached for comment yesterday, Gupta did not deny the account but declined to comment.

CNN confirmed that Gupta has been approached about the job, and said it has kept Gupta from reporting on healthcare policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post.

[A Democrat with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot cautioned that there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post, the Associated Press reported.]

The apparent offer followed a two-hour Chicago meeting in November with Obama, who said that Gupta could be the highest-profile surgeon general in history and would have an expanded role in providing health policy advice, the sources said. Gupta later spoke with Tom Daschle, Obama's White House health czar and nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, and other advisers to the president-elect.

The Michigan-born son of Indian and Pakistani parents, Gupta has always been drawn to health policy. He was a White House fellow in the late 1990s, writing speeches and crafting policy for then-first lady Hillary Clinton. His appointment would give the administration a prominent official of Southwest Asian descent and a skilled television spokesman. Gupta hosts "House Call" on CNN, contributes reports to CBS News, and writes a column for Time magazine. He is a neurosurgeon.

The surgeon general typically isn't heavily involved in shaping an administration's policy, but it can be a very effective bully pulpit. Past surgeons general have proved instrumental in battling tobacco and AIDS.

Gupta's appointment could bring the surgeon general attention not seen since C. Everett Koop held the position under President Ronald Reagan and pushed to make AIDS a public health issue rather than a moral issue.

Gupta has discussed the offer with his bosses at CBS and CNN to make sure he could be released from his contractual obligations, the sources said.