What explains the riddle that is Dr. Ben Carson? The retired neurosurgeon turned Republican presidential candidate has consistently been polling second best in a field of 16 prospects, only trailing Donald Trump. Oh, and Dr. Carson is black. Don’t Republicans have a serious issue with our current president’s ebony complexion?
In a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Carson is running nearly even with the frontrunner, Trump, 23% to 27%. The two “non-politicians” are head and shoulders above the remaining field of established politicians (excluding Fiorina).
The man who some have called as exciting as watching grass grow, continues to baffle political pundits. While his slow, carefully calibrated speech may make for good bedside manners, it doesn’t square with the type of presidential persona most Republican voters say they are looking for; hence, the huge support for the egomaniac Trump.
To understand Carson’s appeal, one needs to understand how deeply religious is this man. After all, this is the candidate who said he is only running for office because God directed him to do so (God Made Me Do It!).
A Gallup poll conducted from Aug. 1 to Sept. 8 on Republican candidates based on religiosity showed that Trump got a net satisfaction rating of 22 percent, compared to Ben Carson who topped it with 56 percent. While Trump likes to boast about his strong support among Evangelicals, Carson’s net favorability rating among the highly religious is over two and a half times higher than Trump’s.
To the highly religious conservative voter, it appears a candidate’s level of religiosity “trumps” all else… experience, enthusiasm for the job, policy positions, etc. In a way, Carson is like Trump… just as inexperienced and radical, but without the bombast.
Voters shouldn’t be fooled by Carson’s quiet, gentle exterior. The good doctor’s views in many ways are more extreme than Trump’s. Inside the chest of the acclaimed neurosurgeon beats the heart of a true right-wing fundamentalist.
One thing’s for sure. With Dr. Carson continuing to be a fixture in the Republican presidential debates, look for the sale of sleep aids to slump.
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Dr. Carson famously said, “You know Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is in a way, it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government, and it was never about health care. It was about control.”
Loco!
Carson is just a black male version of Michelle Bachmann… talks with God on a regular basis.
He is a good-looking man.
No one disputes that. But that qualifies you to be president? Perhaps a starring role in a new medical TV series would be more suitable. Remember the TV series “Ben Casey”? What’s wrong with “Ben Carson?”
Bush the Lesser said he was religious too. You would think the no-nothings would realize at some point that ‘god told me to do it’ doesn’t jive with murdering over a million innocent Iraqis, but Noooooo…..
I used to work for Ben Carson; he’s like most physicians; overtrained for one particular skill set, up at 5 every morning, doing rounds by 7, surgery by 8, home by 8 or 9 pm and rinse, repeat. They know nothing about popular culture, have no time to read the NY Times or any other paper, never hear the news and certainly don’t understand foreign policy. Just great big huuuugge egos… combine that with a massive amount of religious belief, and you have the makings of a disaster bookended by a ‘belief system’ that nothing could go wrong, else ‘god’ would fix it.
Anyone who thinks he or she could be the leader of the free world by definition has an over-sized ego. Good thing about Dr. Ben, I believe is 15 minutes of fame may be over. Surging up the polls is Carly!
There’s no way Carson will be the candidate, because the party would not put forward a black man. The majority of Republican voters, being racist, will never vote for a black man, hence they will pick an older white male.
For sure. Most conservatives say they’re for Carson to assuage their innate racism (knowing he has no chance).
Jason1964 already nailed it…Nice job Jason…
I only wish that there was a GOP debate weekly as each one terrifies and amuses me and I didn’t know that there was any stimulus that could do both!
Best reality show ever!