Scalpels, Pens, & Public Opinion

What happens when a doctor talks politics? It certainly appears as though doctors are tailor-made for the task. We listen to them, we trust them, and doctors really care about us. But doctors face certain hazards when stepping out of the OR and into the public spotlight.

Howard Dean and the "Doctor Factor"

Howard Dean, one-time frontrunner in the race for the Democratic Party leadership, found this out the hard way – in the editorial pages of The Washington Post.

At the height of the 2003-2004 leadership campaign, with his reputation as an "opinionated," "angry," "stubborn," "disrespectful," "arrogant," "hot-headed," "short-fused," and "abrasive" man already cemented in the media, the Post's op-ed writer, Marjorie Williams, delivered the coup de grâce and labeled it the "Doctor Factor." Dean was a doctor and that really bothered her. "Where else but in medicine do you find men and women who never admit a mistake," she opined. "Who talk more than they listen, and feel entitled to withhold crucial information? Whose lack of tact in matters of life and death might disqualify them for any other field?"

Why was Dean so hard hit by the media? After all, when a tenured professor of literature makes controversial statements about politics (as they often do), very few people care. But that wasn't the case with Dean, a doctor. In fact, Williams' disparaging comments even seemed to ring true, despite what we all know – that doctors consistently get high ratings on public opinion surveys looking at honesty and integrity among professionals. And who wouldn't want honesty and integrity in a politician?

Of course, for every Dr. Jekyll, there's a Mr. Hyde. Even though we think they're trustworthy, doctors also have an established reputation for being arrogant, abrasive, opinionated, and stubborn. And this is the reputation that Williams capitalized on. Indeed, to her credit, she recognized that in the game of politics, anything that makes the other side look bad, including negative stereotypes about personalities (and bedside manners!), is valuable – and fair – ammunition.

Territory and Jealousy?

The truth is that all of these apparently negative characteristics also apply to your average journalist – at least those who frequent the op-ed pages, such as Williams. And maybe the root of the problem isn't a matter of personalities and stereotypes, but rather one of jealousy and protecting one's turf.

It's easy to dismiss the odd professor, with his tweed jacket and pipe, who has ventured out of the ivory tower. But it's not as easy to dismiss the opinion of a doctor, whether it's on paper or not. Everyone knows, after all, that doctors deal in matters of life and death, not vague notions of right or wrong in the broadest sense of political ideologies or philosophical ideals.

And then there's the larger issue of professional envy. As writer Martin Mosebach suggests, "both writers and physicians have their sights on people." Frankly, what op-ed writer wouldn't want to be able to take the pulse of the nation, or have the intuitive smarts to diagnose the public situation with a quick examination of the symptoms? What scribe wouldn't give their soul for the trust and authority that doctors impart? There are, after all, some very good reasons that doctors never admit to mistakes, speak more than they listen, and sometimes withhold information, but that's another issue altogether.

Their Secret Weapon?

The good news for doctors is that, in the end, this type of pigeonholing may, in fact, be their secret weapon when it comes to "talking politics" – at least in today's Crossfire-filled world of media attack dogs, political punditry, and spin.

Qualities like arrogance, hotheadedness, and decisiveness, may not endear doctors to us, but let's face it – taken together, they represent the most popular and successful approach to discussion on Sunday morning political shows and in the op-ed pages of newspapers. Doctors have the advantage that most of us believe there's a bit of substance to their rhetoric. We trust doctors – and that, combined with his "abrasiveness" – may have been the real reason for Dean's popular support, despite Marjorie Williams' polemics.

After all, the truth in politics – or at least the other side of the argument – has always been a bitter pill to swallow. It doesn't mean that doctors will always be right, but I hope that doesn't stop them from putting pen to paper.

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