Sidelining the Surgeon

Make no mistake about it--surgeons don't like their operations cancelled, and Frist is going home with a "what am I good for now" mentality. His colleagues forcibly wrenched the scalpel from his hand, and for its effect on his psyche, they might just as well have turned the scalpel and thrust it between his legs. Politicians retreat from defeats to consider the next contest; surgeons retreat with shock, horror, and deep depression. For the first time in his life, he has been publicly disrespected, and in the immediate aftermath he cannot cope. The White House will help him spin it, but he will not recover from the simple fact that some his colleagues were unwilling to trust his judgment in the operating room. His will not be permitted to become the surgical serial killer of the senate.