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Rep. John Conyers, the Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee has criticized the rumored nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be the next Surgeon General of the United States.

(Conyers’ wife, Monica, incidentally, is the President of the City of Detroit City Council. She was in the news recently when it was revealed that the Council’s security costs have doubled since she took office, in part because she requires two bodyguards to accompany her at all times. Her spokesperson justified her need for a posse by stating, "She absolutely needs that security. She is a woman. She can't protect herself in many instances." Her helplessness may come as a surprise to the many people with whom she has had run ins lately, including the member of the City’s Pension Fund Board, whom she threatened to shoot.)

But that’s another story. The reason her husband claims to oppose Gupta’s appointment is lack of experience. "It is not in the best interests of the nation to have someone like this who lacks the requisite experience," Conyers wrote. (In fact, scuttlebutt has it that the real reason he opposes Gupta is that he prefers someone else, Dr. Herb Smitherman, Jr., for the post.)

It is passing strange to think that he is concerned about the level of experience for what is essentially a public relations post, but he wasn’t at all bothered by the even greater lack of salient experience boasted by Barack Obama. One might argue that the position of President of the United States is even more important than Surgeon General. But then again, this is John Conyers we’re discussing. When he ran for Detroit Mayor some years ago, Conyers said, "When I am Mayor, I will treat everybody the same, be he white or be he black, be he gay or be he straight, be he he or be he she."

Still, one has to wonder what it is about Gupta’s career which renders him unfit for duty as the nation’s chief health care shill. Gupta received a medical degree from University of Michigan. He is a neurosurgeon in Atlanta, serves on the faculty at Emory University’s medical school and is CNN’s medical correspondent. Sounds like a lot more experience than our new President has.

The job of Surgeon General, which was established in 1871, is ostensibly to run the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. In fact, what the Surgeon General does is make public statements about issues pertaining to health. In other words, it’s the same thing he does on CNN, only in the new job, he’ll get to wear a uniform.

A better reaction to Gupta’s rumored nomination is not to criticize the choice, but to question the need for the office. In fact, the Surgeon General doesn’t make policy, doesn’t run anything, and has no power or real authority within the Health and Human Services Department. The Surgeon General is essentially dead weight. At a time when we are contemplating trillion dollar deficits "for years to come," perhaps it is time to amputating dead weight from the federal bureaucracy. The Surgeon General’s office is a good place to start.