by Marcus Willburg

Created on: July 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 23, 2009

In today's world, almost everyone has at least one vice that is a detriment to health. Be it smoking, obesity, laziness, or countless others, almost every individual possesses such a characteristic. Essentially, then, what the question is asking is whether or not it should count against the Surgeon General to have an unhealthy characteristic. The answer is a simple no.

Although it is obvious and appropriate for a surgeon general to overcome these flaws, possessing them and overpowering them can lead to more informed, more empathetic, and simply more reasonable conclusions in the office of the Surgeon General.

First, examine the benefits that come from being overweight as the Surgeon General. As an obese or overweight American, the Surgeon General would be more likely to encourage policies that would try to counteract the massive weight problem facing America today. What could this lead to other than a healthier, more fit America?

Furthermore, even greater benefits could arise from an overweight Surgeon General shedding a few pounds. As someone who has been able to lose weight, the Surgeon General would be able to know how to help other Americans lose weight. Who better to help Americans overcome a problem other than someone who has already overcome that problem?

For example, look at the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. Obama has smoked for several years, and has tried to quit many times. Just because he smokes doesn't mean he can't enact programs that will help nicotine addicts quit smoking. Perhaps, even, it is because he smokes that he decided to support anti-smoking efforts to the extent that he does.

It was not under the non-smoking Presidents George W. Bush, William Clinton, or George H.W. Bush, that anti-smoking measures and cigarette regulating poilices were enacted, but under the smoking President Barack Obama that the most comprehensive tobacco regulation package ever to reach the floor of the United States Senate was enacted.

Ultimately, though, one has to realize that it is not the physical characteristics that determine the qualification of a potential Surgeon General, but the mental attributes a nominee possesses. If a person has an honest desire and strong convictions about an issue, such as weight loss, then that person will be more likely to encourage and support measures that would attempt to reverse downward spirals, such as the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. Possession of this drive can ultimately determine the success of a nominee. And, as seen in the case of Barack Obama, this drive is often instilled by possession and detestation of the problem at hand.

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