Commentary by David Bauder as seen on the Website for Channel 10 WISTV in Columbia, South Carolina.
Here are some snippets from the column, with my own brief comment. I recommend that you read it in full at the link above
[...]Keith Ablow is a doctor without ethics, and is likely accusing President Obama of the the very things that Mr. Ablow is suffering from himself. Things like "severed himself from all core emotions." and so much more. Mr Bauder has done a great service in pointing out the professional hypocrisy and lack of ethics of Mr. Ablow. Too bad that Fox news has decided to profit from his lack of ethics instead of upholding professional standards.
He's been a Fox contributor since 2007 after hosting a failed syndicated talk show. Identified as a member of the Fox News Medical A-Team, he hosts a regular segment about behavior titled "Normal or Nuts?" on the "Fox & Friends" morning show. There were published reports this fall that the network had extended his contract.
Rival news networks CNN and MSNBC say they don't have a psychiatrist-commentator under contract. CNN said the closest thing it has to something similar is when profilers come on the air to discuss the mental characteristics of people who commit dramatic crimes, for example. The network said medical experts don't get into politics, but others can have different interpretations. The MRC's Graham said opinion often drifts in when television medical correspondents comment on aspects of Obama's health care plan.
Ablow clearly enjoys being provocative, and his commentaries don't stick to his areas of medical expertise. Within the past two weeks he called for an "American jihad," saying the country should urge all nations to adopt a government form based on the U.S. Constitution. His comment this summer that Michelle Obama "needs to drop a few" pounds was widely noticed.
[...]
Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, said Ablow seems more interested in entertaining than in reflecting well on his profession. Lieberman is past president of the American Psychiatric Association, which discourages members from speculating on psychiatric characteristics of non-patients.
"It is shameful and unfortunate that he is given a platform by Fox News or any other media organization," Lieberman said. "Basically he is a narcissistic self-promoter of limited and dubious expertise."
Ablow isn't an APA member, having resigned in 2011 in a dispute over transgenderism.
It's not unusual for there to be an uncomfortable relationship between the medical community and doctors who get into television. Talk show hosts Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz have their critics. Dr. Drew Pinsky took heat for exposing rehab patients to the pressure of a televised recovery.
While doctors are entitled to political opinions like anyone else, the way Ablow tries to connect his views to medical analysis "is really just irresponsible and it's embarrassing for physicians in general," said Ford Vox, a staff physiatrist at the Shepherd Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta.
Ablow has occasionally taken heat from Fox colleagues about his commentaries. Greg Gutfeld of "The Five" said that "we should probably avoid blaming people for tragedies," in response to Ablow's criticism of Obama on Ebola. And the four women co-hosts of "Outnumbered" clearly didn't appreciate the attack on the first lady's weight, made in context of her efforts to promote healthy eating.
We also note several followup columns on Mr. Ablow such as these
The strange case of Dr. Keith Ablow [Politico]
White House Foolishly Ignores Insights Of Fox ‘Dr.’ Keith Ablow, World’s Worst Psychiatrist [Wonkette]
Fox’s Keith Ablow Doubles Down on Psychoanalyzing Obama as a ‘Narcissist’ [Mediate]
Which is hilarious since Mr. Ablow is ever so likely to be a Narcissist himself.
Of course, he had to something to defend himself, not that it did him any good
Fox’s Keith Ablow fires back after fellow psychiatrists denounce him as a hack
Media Matters posted a mashup of some of Ablow’s past commentaries on Friday, which can be seen below.
On the basis that he is guilty of what he is accusing the President of, Keith Ablow is Toxic, and it is dangerous for your mental health to believe Keith Ablow.
While there may be plenty of legitimate reasons to dislike and and disagree with President Obama, those of discredited psych Keith Ablow are dangerous to American Politics.
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