# 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:** 38
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/741 "2015-11-29T14:50:41Z")
Contra many other left-wing folks, you will never hear me say that Carson is _stupid;_ the fact that he was a fuckin’ _neurosurgeon_ more or less obliterates that charge. But damn, does he have some _wacky_ political views. I spoke to someone at my Thanksgiving table who claimed to be a Carson supporter. When pressed, the guy said that he liked Carson because of his “honesty.” I thought that was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/742 "2015-11-29T14:57:37Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > …you will never hear me say that Carson is _stupid;_ the fact that he was a fuckin’ _neurosurgeon_ more or less obliterates that charge. I think it shows that accomplished technical expertise in one field does not imply broad knowledge or keen general intelligence. It’s been a fascinating object lesson; in all seriousness, I think it will be Carson’s greatest contribution. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/743 "2015-11-29T15:06:27Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > So KKKarson goes to Jordan and visits a refugee camp, and says afterwards that he thinks the refugees should be taken in by Arab countries. Because, yeah, Jordan has been so good at assimilating the Palestinians who have been in refugee camps for 70 years. Um. . . the whole point is that the Arab countries did NOT assimilate the Palestinians–they forced them to remain in the camps. If the various countries had even tried to assimilate the Palestinians, the whole Palestinian question wouldn’t be so big today. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/744 "2015-11-29T22:17:07Z")
Yes, congratulations on discerning the point. ---
**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 30, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/745 "2015-11-30T02:34:14Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > I think it shows that accomplished technical expertise in one field does not imply broad knowledge or keen general intelligence. > > It’s been a fascinating object lesson; in all seriousness, I think it will be Carson’s greatest contribution. Agreed. I happen to be a professional in an academic realm where broad, interdisciplinary knowledge is highly valued (often to a fault – we’re sometimes accused, not unreasonably, of lacking focus). So, it’s especially revealing to me to learn from Dr. Carson how focused/myopic an accomplished and skilled person can be. ---
**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 30, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/746 "2015-11-30T15:39:19Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > Contra many other left-wing folks, you will never hear me say that Carson is _stupid;_ the fact that he was a fuckin’ _neurosurgeon_ more or less obliterates that charge. But damn, does he have some _wacky_ political views. Carson’s knowledge is evidently a mile deep and a millimeter wide. If someone’s breadth of knowledge is so limited, I don’t think it unfair at all call him stupid. In fact, his ignorance of current events, civics, and history seems to be so substandard that I would not want him for my doctor, regardless of his reputation in medicine. ---
**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 30, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/747 "2015-11-30T16:55:19Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > How about the lie Hillary’s been telling for decades about trying to join the Marines? That blew over in about a day. Possibly because there’s [very little evidence](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/12/hillary-clintons-claim-that-she-tried-to-join-the-marines/) she was actually lying. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/748 "2015-11-30T17:14:21Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Carson’s knowledge is evidently a mile deep and a millimeter wide. If someone’s breadth of knowledge is so limited, I don’t think it unfair at all call him stupid. In fact, his ignorance of current events, civics, and history seems to be so substandard that I would not want him for my doctor, regardless of his reputation in medicine. Do you know the political views and level of current events knowledge of your doctors? Because I don’t. And I don’t care. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Possibly because there’s [very little evidence](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/12/hillary-clintons-claim-that-she-tried-to-join-the-marines/) she was actually lying. You realize the article you link to gives her story two Pinocchios, which indicates “significant exaggeration creating a false impression.” Her friends confirmed she didn’t try to join the Marines. But the point is much weaker stuff on Carson spent several days headlining news stories. ---
**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 30, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/749 "2015-11-30T17:19:39Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Do you know the political views and level of current events knowledge of your doctors? Because I don’t. And I don’t care. I’d like to know the views of my doctors on woo and junk science (like creationism) – for Carson, these views seem to cross over to his political beliefs. ---
**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 30, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/750 "2015-11-30T17:21:34Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Do you know the political views and level of current events knowledge of your doctors? Because I don’t. And I don’t care. I don’t care what party he supports. I would care if he believed things that are just factually incorrect and if he substituted Biblical literalism for science. So much of what Carson spews is simply not true and demonstrably so- I prefer doctors who don’t spew nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/751 "2015-11-30T18:46:16Z")
Unless they proselytize in the office, how would you even know? And frankly, if my child were in need of a neurosurgeon for whatever reason, I’ll take the best doctor possible, views on evolution and pyramids be damned. Ben Carson, by almost all accounts, is a great doctor. I think he got in over his head politically, wasn’t ready for and did not respond well to the level of vetting he got. I’d like to see him bow out of the race soon. ---
**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 30, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/752 "2015-11-30T19:15:52Z")
The thing is, you cannot believe the shit he believes without being one dumb son of bitch. Maybe he’s an idiot savant, but he’s still an idiot. Give me a doctor who lives in the real world, not some alternate reality. ---
**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 30, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/753 "2015-11-30T19:22:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The thing is, you cannot believe the shit he believes without being one dumb son of bitch. Maybe he’s an idiot savant, but he’s still an idiot. Give me a doctor who lives in the real world, not some alternate reality. So who else are you going to call to deal with that twin growing out of your head? 😃 ---
**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:** [December 1, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/754 "2015-12-01T18:50:54Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > So who else are you going to call to deal with that twin growing out of your head? > > 😃 For your information, the twin is growing out of my butt. Kind of a Master/Blaster relationship. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/755 "2015-12-01T19:23:39Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Unless they proselytize in the office, how would you even know? And frankly, if my child were in need of a neurosurgeon for whatever reason, I’ll take the best doctor possible, views on evolution and pyramids be damned. > > Ben Carson, by almost all accounts, is a great doctor. I think he got in over his head politically, wasn’t ready for and did not respond well to the level of vetting he got. I’d like to see him bow out of the race soon. Ben Carson is no longer practicing. Why did he retire? Has some health problem affected his hands? Or his cognitive abilities? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/756 "2015-12-01T20:58:24Z")
[So he could run for President.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/03/16/ben-carson-lets-say-you-magically-put-me-in-the-white-house/) ---
**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:** [December 2, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/757 "2015-12-02T02:12:16Z")
Could not find if Carson showed there, so I think it is odd that Ben Carson did not appear in the 60th Anniversary celebration of Rosa Parks’ defiance of segregation while Hillary Clinton did. > **[Hillary Clinton marks anniversary of Rosa Parks bus boycott](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-marks-anniversary-of-rosa-parks-bus-boycott/)** > > Speaking at the church where the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized, Clinton spoke about ongoing civil rights challenges Come to think of it, AFAIK no other Republican candidate showed either. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/758 "2015-12-02T02:27:27Z")
What is the Republican plank on segregation these days? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/759 "2015-12-02T02:44:01Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > What is the Republican plank on segregation these days? Note that their platform is copyrighted, for some reason. They don’t address segregation in so many words, but they do throw out right wing platitudes like > [@](#): > > For the sake of low-income families as well as the taxpayers, the federal government’s entire system of public assistance should be reformed to ensure that it promotes work. Each year, this system dispenses nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer funds across a maze of approximately 80 programs that are neither coordinated nor effective in solving poverty and lifting up families. For many individuals collecting benefits from multiple categorical programs, efforts to work or earn more actually result in less money in their pocket through the resulting loss of benefits. This poverty trap would ensnare even more Americans if Obamacare were implemented. Taking a part time job, working an extra shift, or even just marrying someone who works, would result in a loss of benefits, thereby discouraging the very acts necessary to achieve the American Dream. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/760 "2015-12-02T13:07:39Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Note that their platform is copyrighted, for some reason. > > They don’t address segregation in so many words, but they do throw out right wing platitudes like I agree with much of what they say in there. Only I would say “Yes, let’s streamline it, fix it, have no wrong door, and taper the amounts of benefits.” They would say “Let’s get rid of it.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=39)