[AP photo]
This man had a groundbreaking medical career of over 70 years and saved thousands of lives.
[wikipedia photo]
This man wrote speeches for Bush 1, guest-hosted for Rush Limbaugh, and was press secretary for Bush 2 for a little more than a year.
Both passed the same week. But - their lives/careers oddly didn't receive quite the same coverage. Why is that odd?
Dr. Michael E. DeBakey - deemed the father of modern cardiovascular surgery, invented dozens of medical procedures and tools, developed the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and created what later became the VA hospital system.
DeBakey performed the first successful heart bypass operation [a procedure he developed], the first successful removal of a blockage of the main artery of the neck, and in 1966 he created a partial artificial heart. He performed more than 60,000 operations.
Yet - my unofficial, admittedly incomplete, monitor of recent media shows that the former FOX news personality received as much, or more, broadcast coverage as this pioneering medical genius. From "Breaking News" announcements to obits to follow-up coverage of his funeral. Just made me wonder... Would Dr. DeBakey's passing have received more attention had he been a major network's "chief medical correspondent?"
Both passings are sad. One - obviously too soon... One after a long, productive life... But who, in the end, contributed more? Just something I've been pondering.
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