A Doctor Votes Against His Pocketbook

The husband of one of my numerology clients is a radiologist. Recently, we had a conversation. He revealed to me how bored he was with his job. He sits all day in front of a computer screen analyzing cat scans. He looks for signs of cancer. It's a mindless job for him. He knows what to look for. A very straightforward process. He is never in personal touch with the patients whose bodies he examines in the x-rays. He is a doctor, but without a practice you might say. Just sits and looks at the screen all day - or night. He is part of a team that contracts to several hospitals whose radiology departments are working 24/7. This job pays him $700,000 a year. He gets paid this much to identify who is condemned and who is not. In a way, he feels like a judge and executioner rolled into one, and experiences a sort of corrosion of the soul, which he calls boredom.

Our conversation turned to politics. He told me he had voted for Bush in the last two elections, but is now totally dissatisfied with the way Bush has handled just about everything. Now, he said, he will not vote for McCain. He will vote against his pocketbook by voting for Obama. He believes Obama will move the country in the right direction, namely, getting us out of Iraq sooner than later, doing something positive for the environment, and so forth. I was astonished to hear him say he would vote against his pocketbook, his own personal monetary interest. He believes a Republican administration better protects his investments. I spoke with him before the present money market meltdown. I wonder what he thinks now.