# Ben Carson for President thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554 "2015-08-31T22:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/621 "2015-11-14T18:09:20Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Not only will this play poorly with the evangelical folks who have been flocking to him, I can’t imagine Bush, Rubio or one of the other GOPers won’t pounce on these remarks. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Bush will steer clear. Regardless of his personal feelings, he remembers the political stick he took over that. I think Cruz will try to exploit it via surrogates. He doesn’t want to directly attack Carson, but he’s definitely positioning himself to exploit the “Now you die, and we all move up in rank!” opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/622 "2015-11-14T19:40:44Z")
_Off he goes! Into the mild woo yonder!.._ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/623 "2015-11-15T00:44:16Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Top. Men. [😃](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/quotes) ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/624 "2015-11-15T04:16:11Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > I think Cruz will try to exploit it via surrogates. He doesn’t want to directly attack Carson, but he’s definitely positioning himself to exploit the “Now you die, and we all move up in rank!” opportunity. I know they are the craziest of the cray cray but the folks over at Free Republic are of the opinion it’s time to [stick a fork in Carson](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3359968/posts) because of this. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/625 "2015-11-15T05:31:10Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I know they are the craziest of the cray cray but the folks over at Free Republic are of the opinion it’s time to [stick a fork in Carson](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3359968/posts) because of this. Hah! That shows what happens when one is an expert neurosurgeon, I bet Carson did look at the evidence that was released that included the brain scans. While Carson can misguide himself in other matters very easily, his training would not allow him to lie to himself. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/626 "2015-11-15T06:16:19Z")
What the fuck is wrong with this country if a guy soars to the top of the polls spouting utter nonsense, and then loses his base when he says something sensible? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/627 "2015-11-15T06:34:07Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > I know they are the craziest of the cray cray but the folks over at Free Republic are of the opinion it’s time to [stick a fork in Carson](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3359968/posts) because of this. OK, I needed this: > [@](#): > > Well FR does have a contingent of hard leftists that will excuse any act of liberalism and fight for 3 years over it when it comes to electing liberals no matter what as a lesser evil, so I expect plenty of Carson backing to continue unabated. > > It’s what they do. Some are convinced the LSM is lying, others are convinced he’s a Democratic plant, others are of the opinion he’s a potted plant (or lobotomized), and others think Trump is a [del]Literal[/del] Liberal Democrat, and, of course, everyone seems to think Terri felt happy… and was dancing around singing Hallelujah before Jeb gunned her down. I’d almost forgotten how much _fun_ these yahoos are. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/628 "2015-11-15T07:31:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ben thinks there are Chinese in Syria](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria). Not sure which side they’re on. But it’s funny that nobody else seems to know that this is a thing. I do wonder who is briefing Ben and his spokesman about these things. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > It’s bad enough he spouts crap like that, but it’s even worse that there were a dozen guys running for President standing up there with him, all of whom were desperately hoping they could manage to say something that would help their chances and hurt his, and none of them were confident enough of their Cliff’s Notes knowledge of Syria to call him on it. The candidates have the element of surprise. It’s impossible to do enough research to be prepared for whatever crazy idea they’re going to come up with. If I said Hillary Clinton dodged the Benghazi hearings by faking a concussion because she was seeking illegal campaign contributions from ex-pat Belgians, would you have a cite handy to prove it was bullshit? By the time you have the evidence to prove it’s bullshit, it’s old news that I even said it. As long as I can keep spewing a stream of fresh nonsense faster than you can refute it, and there’s no evidence the Republicans are running short, then it all goes unchallenged. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/629 "2015-11-15T07:56:14Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > What the fuck is wrong with this country if a guy soars to the top of the polls spouting utter nonsense, and then loses his base when he says something sensible? Crazy as it seems it makes sense. Would you still for a guy who is no longer as crazy as you thought … ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/630 "2015-11-17T16:25:07Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > She’s probably in a trunk in his basement. Nah, she’s stored in a pyramid. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/631 "2015-11-18T00:28:15Z")
Oh, [this is good](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/sorry-ben-carson-just-doesnt-care-about-foreign-policy) - here’s his foreign policy advisor: > [@](#): > > “Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East,” Duane R. Clarridge, a top adviser to Mr. Carson on terrorism and national security, said. And: > [@](#): > > After Mr. Carson struggled on “Fox News Sunday” to say whom he would call first to form a coalition against the Islamic State, Mr. Clarridge called [Armstrong] Williams, the candidate’s top adviser, in frustration. “We need to have a conference call once a week where his guys roll out the subjects they think will be out there, and we can make him smart,” Mr. Clarridge said he told Mr. Williams. “We can make him smart.” Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/632 "2015-11-18T00:29:31Z")
Sounds like his team is trying but he’s not showing any interest. Can’t win that way. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/633 "2015-11-18T01:27:56Z")
This guy is so self important, he thinks its beneath him to know the job, or expend a brain cell on it. He is being lifted by angels apparently. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/634 "2015-11-18T01:30:54Z")
Come on, cut the guy some slack! [The guy’s a genius, all right.](http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/15/ben-carson-destructs-full-blown-nutter-fox-news.html) > [@](#): > > WALLACE: The Obama administration has said before that it would accept up to 10,000 Syrian refugees as part of the humanitarian crisis. We now learn that one of these attackers had a Syrian passport that indicated he had been part of the refugee flood into Europe in October. Would you continue that policy? > > CARSON: Well, you know, as I’ve said all along, you know, bringing people into this country from that area of the world I think is a huge mistake. Because why wouldn’t they infiltrate them with people who are ideologically opposed to us? It would be foolish for them not to do that. So, we need to be very compassionate to understand that these people have been displaced and we should use our expertise and resources to help get them resettle over there, and to support them over there, but to bring them here under these circumstances is a suspension of intellect. > > You know, the reason that the human brain has these big frontal lobes as opposed to other animals, because we can engage in rational thought processing, we can, you know, extract information from the past, the present, process it and project it into a plan. Animals, on the other hand, have big brain stems and rudimentary things, because they react. We don’t have to just react, we can think. Now why aren’t the other candidates talking about the size of human frontal lobes when talking about foreign policy? Huh? That Carson, he’s one sharp cookie! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/635 "2015-11-18T02:55:49Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Oh, [this is good](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/11/sorry-ben-carson-just-doesnt-care-about-foreign-policy) - here’s his foreign policy advisor: > And:“We can make him smart.” Good luck with that. Ben Carson. A man barely alive. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/636 "2015-11-18T10:00:34Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Sounds like his team is trying but he’s not showing any interest. Can’t win that way. Would you concede that a total lack of interest in major national security issues is a genuine disqualifier for the Presidency, and that this guy has no business even being in the running? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/637 "2015-11-18T13:39:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ben thinks there are Chinese in Syria](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-armstrong-williams-chinese-in-syria). Not sure which side they’re on. But it’s funny that nobody else seems to know that this is a thing. I do wonder who is briefing Ben and his spokesman about these things. The N.Y. times has [a follow-up article about this](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/us/politics/ben-carson-is-struggling-to-grasp-foreign-policy-advisers-say.html): > [@](#): > > … two of his top advisers said in interviews that he had struggled to master the intricacies of the Middle East and national security and that intense tutoring was having little effect. > “Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East,” said Duane R. Clarridge, a top adviser to Mr. Carson on terrorism and national security… [Clarridge is a “colorful” figure who was] indicted on charges of lying to Congress in the Iran-contra scandal. > > … Mr. Carson’s advisers said that his source for claiming Chinese involvement in Syria was a telephone conversation he had had with a freelance American intelligence operative in Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/638 "2015-11-18T14:05:25Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > [Ooops!](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-ben-carson-terri-schiavo-jeb-bush-20151113-story.html) I think Ben Carson may have made a serious misstep here when asked about the Terri Schiavo case. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising but he was finally absolutely, uncategorically right about something - and that something was neurosurgery. I am a little shocked that the right still think there was merit in the Schiavo interventions. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/639 "2015-11-18T14:21:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I guess it shouldn’t be surprising but he was finally absolutely, uncategorically right about something - and that something was neurosurgery. I am a little shocked that the right still think there was merit in the Schiavo interventions. McCain was considering her as a running mate but had to go with his second choice. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/640 "2015-11-18T14:57:30Z")
Ben Carson’s campaign [doesn’t know what America looks like](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-refugee-map-fail), apparently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=33)