# 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:** 35
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/681 "2015-11-19T14:21:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s about time to give up hope with Dr. Carson. When your staff starts complaining that no matter how hard they try you just aren’t getting it, then maybe it’s time to find another line of work. If history holds, that would be Republican Vice Presidential Candidate. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/682 "2015-11-19T18:41:14Z")
Looks like Carson’s support is starting to slip just a bit: two national polls got released today (Bloomberg and PPP), and Carson’s at 20% and 19%, respectively. ---
**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 19, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/683 "2015-11-19T18:50:16Z")
I have Irritable Carson Syndrome. You do not want to be standing behind me when Carson is on the TV in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/684 "2015-11-19T20:27:04Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If Carson became knowledgeable in fall 2015 it wouldn’t matter what dumb things he said in spring 2015. He’s planning on getting up to speed [just in time for the election](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/427298/ben-carson-policy-weakness): > [@](#): > > “You know, I know a lot more than I knew. A year from now — a year from now, I will know a lot more than I know now,” he told Judy Woodruff. “In medicine, we have something called continuing medical education. You have to get those credits in order to be recertified. I think that applies to every aspect of our lives, particularly in a rapidly changing world.” ---
**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 19, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/685 "2015-11-19T20:41:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > He’s planning on getting up to speed [just in time for the election](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/427298/ben-carson-policy-weakness): Based on my former step-brother, continuing medical education means signing into the class and then going skiing. ---
**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 20, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/686 "2015-11-20T16:07:54Z")
[Syrian refugees are like rabid dogs.](http://news.yahoo.com/republican-ben-carson-compares-syrian-refugees-rabid-dogs-202013472.html) > [@](#): > > Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Thursday likened refugees fleeing violence in Syria to “rabid dogs,” and said that allowing them into the United States would put Americans at risk. > > "If there is a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, you’re probably not going to assume something good about that dog,” Carson, a front-runner in some opinion polls, said Thursday at a campaign event in Mobile, Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/687 "2015-11-20T17:00:55Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Based on my former step-brother, continuing medical education means signing into the class and then going skiing. Well,\* sometimes\* continuing education can be useful. But it’s intended to keep current the knowledge gained through several degrees & years of medical experience. Carson hasn’t even begun his political career. He expects to cram enough knowledge to skip the equivalents of pre-med, medical school, internship, residency & years of practice–and be appointed head of a major hospital. Everything he says indicates that he is utterly unqualified to be elected dogcatcher. Much less President. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/688 "2015-11-20T18:12:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Actually, most of the likely nominees poll better than Clinton. Three states got polled yesterday, Colorado, NH, and Florida, and most Republicans lead Clinton in all those states. > > Rubio is now the strongest candidate, leading Clinton by 7 in NH, 16 in CO, and 7 in FL. > > [Latest Polls 2024 | RealClearPolling](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/) So we should take as gold to the poll for a general election about a year away that neither party has begun campaigning in earnest for, but we should ignore polls for the primary that is a mere 3 months away, and is being heavily campaigned for that show Trump winning the nomination? If we believe the poll that says that Rubio will beat Clinton we also have to accept polls that say Rubio isn’t the nominee. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/689 "2015-11-21T03:26:14Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > There was never a time to put any hope in Dr. Carson unless you were a patient of his. But good to see you come around at last, even if it takes an extreme situation to make that happen. [Twins conjoined at the heart separated by surgeons.](http://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/2015/11/19/conjoined-twins-separated-kosair-hospital/76050600/) Afterwards, doctors say “beat that, Doc!” ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/690 "2015-11-23T22:50:00Z")
[Like Trump, Carson Says He Saw Video of U.S. Muslims Cheering 9/11.](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-carson-says-he-saw-video-u-s-muslims-cheering-n468486) So, how many people need to say they remember this before it technically meets the definition of a mass delusion? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/691 "2015-11-24T00:21:27Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > [Like Trump, Carson Says He Saw Video of U.S. Muslims Cheering 9/11.](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-carson-says-he-saw-video-u-s-muslims-cheering-n468486) > > So, how many people need to say they remember this before it technically meets the definition of a mass delusion? So, how many people need to say they remember this before it crosses the “truthiness” threshold and becomes established fact? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/692 "2015-11-24T00:31:06Z")
Ben does not stand by his remarks. > **[Ben Carson 'Doesn't Stand Behind' His Own Remarks About American Muslims...](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ben-carson-newsreels-american-muslims-cheering-911/story?id=35376256)** “He doesn’t stand behind his comments to New Jersey and American Muslims,” said campaign spokesman Doug Watts said. "He was rather thinking of the protests going on in the Middle East and some of the demonstrations that we’re going on in celebration of the towers going down. “He doesn’t stand behind his references and apologizes for the mistaken references. It was a mistake on his part and he clearly wasn’t really thinking about New Jersey, he was thinking about the Middle East.” ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/693 "2015-11-24T00:34:18Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Ben does not stand by his remarks. > > [Ben Carson 'Doesn't Stand Behind' His Own Remarks About American Muslims Cheering on 9/11 - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ben-carson-newsreels-american-muslims-cheering-911/story?id=35376256) > > “He doesn’t stand behind his comments to New Jersey and American Muslims,” said campaign spokesman Doug Watts said. "He was rather thinking of the protests going on in the Middle East and some of the demonstrations that we’re going on in celebration of the towers going down. > > “He doesn’t stand behind his references and apologizes for the mistaken references. It was a mistake on his part and he clearly wasn’t really thinking about New Jersey, he was thinking about the Middle East.” Huh? Good for him for owning up to it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/694 "2015-11-24T00:50:13Z")
Well, shit, who wouldn’t confuse New Jersey and the Middle East? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/695 "2015-11-24T01:43:56Z")
There are Chinese restaurants in New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/696 "2015-11-24T01:47:07Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > [Like Trump, Carson Says He Saw Video of U.S. Muslims Cheering 9/11.](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-carson-says-he-saw-video-u-s-muslims-cheering-n468486) > > So, how many people need to say they remember this before it technically meets the definition of a mass delusion? You’d think if there were one candidate who could (or at least would try like hell to) put a stop to this, it would be Chris Christie. But it seems [he can’t remember](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/chris-christie-trump-911-new-jersey-216142) whether it happened or not. ---
**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 24, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/697 "2015-11-24T02:02:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, shit, who wouldn’t confuse New Jersey and the Middle East? I know that white Christians built fortifications during the crusades… and New Jersey has White Castles… I’m just… not… sure… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/698 "2015-11-24T02:36:57Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > You’d think if there were one candidate who could (or at least would try like hell to) put a stop to this, it would be Chris Christie. But it seems [he can’t remember](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/chris-christie-trump-911-new-jersey-216142) whether it happened or not. I have seen Christie on a couple of occasions step up and do the right thing. Admirable enough in any man, especially praiseworthy in a man who is, essentially, a boorish asshole. But this is kind of chickenshit, hiding behind lapses of memory? OK, he is a boorish asshole, so maybe a “tsk-tsk” is about all this rates. Still, _sheeesh_! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/699 "2015-11-24T02:58:39Z")
[Carson also thinks Thomas Jefferson wrote the Constitution.](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-thomas-jefferson-gaffe-216146) As much as I hate to, I have to support him here. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he confused one document with another. If you asked a group of people who wrote it, I am quite sure that many of them would have said the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/700 "2015-11-24T03:32:09Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Huh? Good for him for owning up to it. > [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Ben does not stand by his remarks. > > [Ben Carson 'Doesn't Stand Behind' His Own Remarks About American Muslims Cheering on 9/11 - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ben-carson-newsreels-american-muslims-cheering-911/story?id=35376256) > > “He doesn’t stand behind his comments to New Jersey and American Muslims,” said campaign spokesman Doug Watts said. "He was rather thinking of the protests going on in the Middle East and some of the demonstrations that we’re going on in celebration of the towers going down. > > “He doesn’t stand behind his references and apologizes for the mistaken references. It was a mistake on his part and he clearly wasn’t really thinking about New Jersey, he was thinking about the Middle East.” Yes, good for him! That’s the kind of positive action I’d expect from someone who’s not a professional politician - an admission of a verbal gaffe, and then moving on. We don’t see enough pols doing that these days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=36)