President Obama has resorted to theatrics in an attempt to bolster support for his health care reform plans. The New York Post reports:

President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet — and handed out doctors’ white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.

In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama.

A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama’s pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress.

The physicians, all invited guests, were told to bring their white lab coats to make sure that TV cameras captured the image.

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.

So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

All this to provide a visual counter to complaints from other doctors that pending legislation is bad news for the medical profession.

"Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do," Obama told his guests.

The president was flanked by four white-coated doctors at a podium as he delivered his pep talk.

This is not the first time that lab coat clad doctors have been used to legitimize a product or service. Nathan Handwerker of Nathan’s Hot Dogs did just that after he started his hot dog stand with the intent of undercutting his former employer.

Things did not go exactly as planned, however. Rather than the new stand's lower price drawing customers away from Feltman's, it instead made them suspicious about the quality of Nathan's food. Because his price was so much lower, many assumed that he must be using inferior meat. This problem was exacerbated by an already shaky public opinion of hot dogs in general. When Feltman had first started selling them, it was rumored that they were made of dog or horse meat. Although those rumors had for the most part died away, the eating public was still skeptical. Handwerker, however, believed in the quality of his product--and he came up with an ingenious way to convince others of it. He hired people to dress up as doctors, complete with lab coats and stethoscopes, and stand in front of his restaurant, eating hot dogs. Handwerker reasoned that the sight of medical professionals munching on Nathan's hot dogs would allay customers' health fears and give his restaurant the stamp of approval. To drive the point home, he posted a new sign reading, "If doctors eat our hot dogs, you know they're good!"

So we see that this tactic has been used before. Is the president the bigger weenie for his pageantry of physicians? All that was lacking was a sign that read “If doctors support Obamacare, you know it’ll be good.”