Frist: A lying asshole senator and a shitty doctor

FRIST: BAD DOCTOR, LIAR
By now you've read about the autopsy that vindicated Michael Schiavo and "effectively quashed allegations by her parents that she had been abused by her husband." The report not only embarassed conservative pundits like Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough, it also makes Dr. Bill Frist look as medically astute as Neil Patrick Harris. But when questioned about the report, instead of issuing an apology, Frist resorted to out-right lying on NBC's "Today Show" (hat tip Think Progress | Crooks and Liars):

LAUER: You were on the floor of the Senate at that time, not only as a senator, but a doctor, and in talking about Ms. Schiavo, you said, quoting you now, "She does respond." End quote. Were you wrong in your diagnosis?


Sen. FRIST: Well, first of all, I did--never made a diagnosis. I think it's very important that we saw the autopsy today. It does gives us the definitive information that we did not have at that point in time. And that's why I think it is big news that she had totally irreversible brain damage, and we now have that information. All we were arguing for on the floor of the Senate was to get an accurate diagnosis before you withdraw a feeding tube from a live person.

LAUER: But by saying that she does...

Sen. FRIST: And that was--that was the only argument, then we turned it back to the courts. And that's all we said, go to the courts and say, `Make sure your diagnosis is right before you remove that tube and starve her to death.'

LAUER: ...but when you stand on the floor and you said, `She does respond,' are you at all worried that you led some senators...

Sen. FRIST: No, I never said that. I never said she responded. I said--and I reviewed the court videotapes...
You'll notice the excerpt is long, even though Matt Lauer asked a simple question. It's because Frist was filibustering. But when Lauer pushes again, Frist resorts to lying:


Frist: "No, I never said that. I never said she responded." Oyyy-vey, and on the Senate floor:

And from my standpoint as a physician, I would be very careful before I would come to the floor and say this, that the facts upon which this case were based are inadequate. I`ve looked at the video footage. Based on the footage provided me, which were part of the facts of the case, she does respond.



Frist, 3/17/05: "she does respond"
Frist, 6/16/05: "I never said she responded"
The Lexington Herald Leader put it this way: “If Frist issued them a clean bill of health, we implore them to get a second opinion.”