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Sunday, November 09, 2003As many of you know, I'm a doctor. I'm an internist, and I take care of all ages, pretty much five to 105. There's an inherent untruth in that sentence that escapes most non-physicians. Howard Dean is an internist, a doctor trained in internal medicine, which means he treats adults, not patients "5 to 105." (Familiy physicians are the ones who do that.) I've yet to meet an internist who feels comfortable treating a five year old, unless they graduated from a combined residency in pediatrics and internal medicine. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it isn't. Marcus Welby was a family physician. Dr. Kildare was an internist. The difference is all in the archetype. Dean's got to be consciously aware of this. If he opened with the same claim in front an audience of physicians, his claim to be an internist who treats five year olds would immediately call into question the veracity of everything that follows. He does it in front of audiences of laymen because he knows he can get away with it. And because it suits the personal narrative that politician Dean is trying to spin for Dr. Dean. posted by Sydney on 11/09/2003 11:40:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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