# 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:** 40
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/781 "2016-01-01T00:36:30Z")
I’ve heard politicians called empty suits before, but Carson is the one that fits it best. I’d say I’ll miss him, but there isn’t really anything to miss. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/782 "2016-01-01T01:09:51Z")
The money ran out. It’s as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/783 "2016-01-01T01:48:57Z")
But not before collecting a terrific mailing list that can keep paying long after the election, [which may have been the plan all along.](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/meet-armstrong-williams-the-shady-grifter-whos-running-ben-carsons-bizarro-campaign/) ---
**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:** [January 2, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/784 "2016-01-02T22:30:09Z")
He’ll be out by the end of the month. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/785 "2016-01-06T15:12:56Z")
Carson’s wife, Candy Carson, wrote a book recently, and it has some more fun stories from his life, like this totally believable one: [he chased down his carjackers, and then befriended him.](http://www.mediaite.com/tv/so-now-it-turns-out-ben-carson-apprehended-a-carjacker/) > [@](#): > > Candy Carson: I don’t think… You talking about when he got carjacked? No, he was on his way home from work. so I was with the kids. Yes, he drove into one of the gas stations that was near work, and it wasn’t the greatest neighborhood, but went in to pay and it was his baby, the Jaguar. So when he came out, he noticed that the car was starting to drive off. > > Doocy: He wasn’t in it — > > Candy Carson: No! So he chased it. and you know, caught up, and when the guys, they got out of the car, they put it in park. They said “Wait a minute, are you that doctor?” They were shaking hands, taking pictures. I would love to know how this story came about, since it’s one that happened to Carson that his wife is telling. I might be a little sad when he drops out, because that means there will be fewer Carson stories coming out. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/786 "2016-01-06T15:53:20Z")
I am just disappointed that he didn’t stab Steve Doocy to prove what a terrible person he is. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/787 "2016-01-06T16:24:18Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Carson’s wife, Candy Carson, wrote a book recently, and it has some more fun stories from his life, like this totally believable one: [he chased down his carjackers, and then befriended him.](http://www.mediaite.com/tv/so-now-it-turns-out-ben-carson-apprehended-a-carjacker/) I have a really hard time swallowing that one. A man with Carson’s supposed intellect leaves the keys in his Jag in a bad neighborhood? Or did the thugs hot wire it like they did on all the 1970s police dramas? And he can outrun a car? And the thugs were fans of his? No, no bullshit there, moving right along. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/788 "2016-01-06T16:54:42Z")
I’ve never stolen a Jag… but I’m pretty sure that if I did, it’d be so I could drive it fast. Like, faster than a human can run. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/789 "2016-01-06T16:57:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I have a really hard time swallowing that one. A man with Carson’s supposed intellect leaves the keys in his Jag in a bad neighborhood? Or did the thugs hot wire it like they did on all the 1970s police dramas? And he can outrun a car? And the thugs were fans of his? No, no bullshit there, moving right along. I’m surprised he didn’t point out a more appropriate car. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/790 "2016-01-06T19:31:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve never stolen a Jag… but I’m pretty sure that if I did, it’d be so I could drive it fast. Like, faster than a human can run. This particular Jag was specially modified for Ben Carson. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/791 "2016-01-07T14:24:15Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > But not before collecting a terrific mailing list that can keep paying long after the election, [which may have been the plan all along.](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/meet-armstrong-williams-the-shady-grifter-whos-running-ben-carsons-bizarro-campaign/) So far it seems to be a bizarro mailing list, at least from my perspective. Last week I got a Carson fundraising mailing, complete with a frameable lithograph of Ben, which also contains a “signed” note in which Carson calls me “a true patriot” and “a shining example of the best America has to offer”. Aw gee Ben, you’ll make me blush. What’s weird is that I am not now and have never been a member of the Republican Party (to use 1950s jargon), and cannot conceivably have donated money to causes which Carson supports (I doubt he is a closet supporter of Planned Parenthood, for instance). The mailing isn’t explainable because he got my name off a list of physicians (both of the colleagues I work with on a day to day basis didn’t receive it). Heck, I don’t even buy Mannatech supplements. Anyone else been honored by the signed lithograph treatment? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/792 "2016-01-07T14:41:04Z")
Membership in a decidedly right wing message board? Like the blonde gold-digger chasing after me, said she was greedy, didn’t say anything about smart… ---
**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:** [January 7, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/793 "2016-01-07T14:41:51Z")
Are you a member of any professional organizations that they aren’t? AMA, your state’s pathology group, etc. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/794 "2016-01-07T19:13:48Z")
[Ben Carson asks an elementary school class who is the dumbest kid in class.](http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/7/1466967/-Ben-Carson-embarrasses-elementary-student-with-wildly-cruel-question-at-school-assembly?detail=facebook) ---
**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:** [January 7, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/795 "2016-01-07T19:28:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Ben Carson asks an elementary school class who is the dumbest kid in class.](http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/1/7/1466967/-Ben-Carson-embarrasses-elementary-student-with-wildly-cruel-question-at-school-assembly?detail=facebook) “Today, Mr. Carson, that would be you.” ---
**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:** [January 7, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/796 "2016-01-07T19:33:24Z")
“Sir, none of us are in class because we had to come to this stupid assembly to hear you talk.” ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/797 "2016-01-08T02:20:19Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > We have a Ben Carson thread but it’s not really the Ben Carson for President thread. I figured that with him now tied with Trump in Iowa and starting to look very strong that he probably now deserves a thread talking about his chances, and whatever weird things he’s saying or smart things he’s saying. > > It does seem to me that he’s a much, much better candidates than he was last spring, although still not ready for prime time. But given how long a campaign is, he just might be smart enough to get over that learning curve by November. I believe he can win now based on five factors: > > 1. Republican voters, really all voters, desperately want an outsider. > > 2. Trump has more name recognition and support, but I still don’t think he’s all that serious and too many Republicans disapprove of him for him to get a majority of delegates. > > 3. Carson is now the most highly thought of candidate among Republicans, with an 81% approval rating. > > 4. His approval rating among the general electorate is the most positive, although there are still a lot of people who don’t know him yet. But he’s at +9, better than any other candidate in either party. > > [http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster#favorability-ratings](http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster#favorability-ratings) > > 1. Biography. No candidate has a more compelling story. > > The downsides of course are obvious. His tax plan is even more nonsensical than Herman Cain’s. He still likes to think aloud about things he doesn’t yet know much about(drone strikes on drug smugglers, homosexuality in prison). And he has yet to stand before a liberal or mainstream media outlet. He’s limited himself to Fox. However, he has been willing to talk to the people, so that’s good. But until he can survive Katie Couric he’ll never make it. He’s got a long way to go, but he has the potential to get there. God, I sincerely hope he doesn’t. See post 26566: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511831&page=532](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=511831&page=532) ---
**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:** [January 8, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/798 "2016-01-08T14:17:22Z")
Ben Carson asked fifth-graders to single out the ‘worst student’ in their class, [so they did.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/01/07/ben-carson-asks-fifth-graders-to-single-out-the-worst-student-in-their-class-and-they-did/) ---
**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:** [January 8, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/799 "2016-01-08T14:47:56Z")
[Carson says he was recruited to be Speaker of the House in 2014.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-house-speaker) ---
**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:** [January 8, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/800 "2016-01-08T14:53:38Z")
He would have been an excellent Sleeper of the House. Speaker? Not so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=39) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=41)