# 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:** 33
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/641 "2015-11-18T15:10:40Z")
That’s OK - for many of his supporters, America doesn’t look like _him_, either. ---
**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, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/642 "2015-11-18T15:11:15Z")
And apparently Duane Clarridge, Carson’s foreign policy advisor, is [a real piece of work](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/carsons_top_foreign_policy_adv058677.php), deeply involved in Iran-Contra back in the day, and in charge of the CIA’s Latin American Division in the early 1980s, when we were supporting all sorts of covert nastiness in that part of the world. This is the sort of guy Carson chooses as a foreign policy advisor. Just as well that Carson basically ignores him, but since Carson apparently doesn’t know jack about foreign policy, period, that’s small comfort. Lots more [at the link](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2015_11/carsons_top_foreign_policy_adv058677.php). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/643 "2015-11-18T15:30:18Z")
How would a mistake like that even happen? OK, so the staffers who put that graphic together didn’t look closely enough to notice that it was a bit off… that’s a boneheaded mistake, but one that I can see would be possible. But how did it end up off to begin with? Surely, to make such a graphic, you’d start with a stock image of the US, and just fill in the colors. Where would one get a stock image of the states that had New England misplaced like that? Why did that map ever even exist? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/644 "2015-11-18T16:01:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > a friend of mine got his penis caught in a ceiling fan So THAT’S what fanwanking means. ---
**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, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/645 "2015-11-18T16:02:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How would a mistake like that even happen? OK, so the staffers who put that graphic together didn’t look closely enough to notice that it was a bit off… that’s a boneheaded mistake, but one that I can see would be possible. But how did it end up off to begin with? Surely, to make such a graphic, you’d start with a stock image of the US, and just fill in the colors. Where would one get a stock image of the states that had New England misplaced like that? Why did that map ever even exist? The only thing I can think of is that some staffer had a bunch of little state images, put the colors in, and then put them together like a puzzle, but screwing up the Northeast. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/646 "2015-11-18T16:12:27Z")
Or his campaign staff have just all had enough and are fucking w/ him now. ---
**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, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/647 "2015-11-18T16:14:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So THAT’S what fanwanking means. You win this part of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/648 "2015-11-18T17:04:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The only thing I can think of is that some staffer had a bunch of little state images, put the colors in, and then put them together like a puzzle, but screwing up the Northeast. What state is the blue one in the upper right? Is that Vermont flipped over backwards? ---
**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, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/649 "2015-11-18T17:32:32Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > What state is the blue one in the upper right? Is that Vermont flipped over backwards? The blue state immediately to the right of NY is Vermont, right side up. (Right where it should be, incidentally.) But the placement of Connecticut (also in blue) to the right of northern Vermont kinda confuses the picture. And then the rest of New England is where it should be in relation to CT, which would be fine if CT were where it usually is. > [@running\_coach](#): > > You win this part of the thread. You’re being too modest, given your post #639. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/650 "2015-11-18T18:35:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **iiandyiiii** : > > The only thing I can think of is that some staffer had a bunch of little state images, put the colors in, and then put them together like a puzzle, but screwing up the Northeast. You may be right-- The borders aren’t quite all consistent with each other, as if they were inexpertly fit together, and some of the states are different shades of the same color, as if they were colored in by separate people. But one still has a hard time fathoming it-- Between curvature of the Earth, map projections, and differing scales, the only way you’re going to get individual state maps that _can_ be pieced together is to start with a map of the full country to begin with, and then cut it up. I dunno; maybe Carson is just naturally disposed to cutting up complicated things and putting them back together almost the same way in the hopes that things will work out. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/651 "2015-11-18T18:42:20Z")
This reminds me of a puzzle given as a neurologic test to someone who’s undergone a brain trauma. They failed the test ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/652 "2015-11-18T18:45:11Z")
With the map, it looks like someone said “uh-oh… If we put in the map the normal way, Maine will protrude off the right edge of the frame” and instead of simply changing the frame dimensions so it would fit (or just moving the whole map slightly left, it seems there is enough space for that between “NO” and Oregon) they chose to do it the hard way. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/653 "2015-11-18T18:49:42Z")
It occurs to me that no one is questioning whether the underlying data is accurate. It would be a clever ploy to distract from false data by getting everyone to focus on a bonehead map error. I don’t think that’s happening here, though. It doesn’t quite match other info I’ve seen, but it’s probably closer to accurate than anything else that comes from Carson. I’d save that move for something bigger. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/654 "2015-11-18T18:50:57Z")
You’re all wrong. Ben Carson is right and that’s what New England will look like in 2287. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/655 "2015-11-18T18:52:44Z")
It will be left behind, looking in tatters like that, after the Rapture. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/656 "2015-11-18T19:25:02Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > McCain was considering her as a running mate but had to go with his second choice. However Carson is making Palin look like a genius. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/657 "2015-11-18T19:27:54Z")
Terry Schiavo made Palin look like a genius. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/658 "2015-11-18T20:30:43Z")
I just posted this in the Stupid Republican Idea thread, about the map: > [@](#): > > I’d say it looks like he grabbed the map, but didn’t select Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut and then dragged the map down, so that the aforementioned states shifted up relatively. It looks like Connecticut is overlapping the top of Vermont, but since they’re the same color they look like one unit. > > That’s what I’d assume anyway. I think that’s probably the case. Just a flub by a designer that slipped through proofing. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/659 "2015-11-18T21:04:13Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I just posted this in the Stupid Republican Idea thread, about the map: > > I think that’s probably the case. Just a flub by a designer that slipped through proofing. More fanwanking. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/660 "2015-11-18T21:14:26Z")
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