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Friday, Mar 6, 2009 5:20 PM UTC

No, Howard Dean doesn’t want to be surgeon general

It seems like the former DNC chairman gets talked about for every open position, but this is one job he's reportedly not interested in.

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Topics: Howard Dean, War Room,

With Sanjay Gupta’s decision to bow out of the running for surgeon general, there’s yet another big vacancy in the Obama administration open. Unsurprisingly — and I say that because it seems like his supporters bring up his name every time there’s an open position in the administration, and because of his background — former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has been talked about for the job.

Greg Sargent reports, however, that he’s hearing from Dean allies that the former Vermont governor doesn’t want the post. “It’s not a good fit for him,” one told Sargent.

That’s in contrast to the job of Health and Human Services secretary, which Dean did want. His friends and allies have been perturbed by the lack of consideration Dean has gotten for Cabinet posts like HHS from the Obama administration and by other perceived slights.

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.

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