# 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:** 43
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/841 "2016-02-23T23:30:06Z")
[Ben Carson starts throwing shit, hoping something sticks. > [@](#): > > Ben Carson is trying to reinvigorate his campaign for Republican presidential nomination by becoming the latest to question Barack Obama’s blackness ahead of critical upcoming votes. > > The retired neurosurgeon, hovering near the bottom of the GOP field, said in a series of recent interviews that Obama was “raised white” and doesn’t represent the “black experience” in the United States. > > “He didn’t grow up like I grew up,” Carson, the only black major party candidate in the 2016 presidential race, said on MSNBC. “Many of his formative years were spent in Indonesia. So, for him to, you know, claim that, you know, he identifies with the experience of black Americans, I think, is a bit of a stretch.” > > He also told Politico’s “Off Message” podcast released Tuesday that the president was “raised white.” ]([http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d026fbfa19b64ee4a5dde4cd05906cb4/carson-questions-obama-blackness-fading-campaign](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d026fbfa19b64ee4a5dde4cd05906cb4/carson-questions-obama-blackness-fading-campaign))Apparently he thinks that Obama is running for president again, I guess. Also, he’s trying to have it both ways: he’s blacker than Obama because of his experiences, but he’s mad that people don’t acknowledge his blackness because he’s a Republican. > [@](#): > > But even as Carson questions Obama’s “blackness,” he’s complaining about being politically and racially typecast. While Obama, once a curiosity because his mother was white and his father was black, has been fully embraced by many black Americans as one of their own. Carson, however, has lost some admiration that many blacks held for his life story and medical accomplishments as his conservative views won praise in heavily white Republican circles. > > “They assume because you’re black, you have to think a certain way,” Carson said in the Politico interview. “And if you don’t think that way, you’re ‘Uncle Tom,’ you’re worthy of every horrible epithet they can come up with; whereas, if I weren’t black, then I would just be a Republican.” > > Angela Johnson Meadows, who worked for Diversity Best Practices, an organization that promotes diversity, says that view combined with Carson’s comments on Obama are “ironic and a bit hypocritical.” The really crappy thing is, I’m pretty sure that even after his campaign folds we’re still gonna hear this idiot on Fox News quite a bit for the next 4 years, especially if [del]Obama[/del]Clinton wins. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/842 "2016-02-23T23:37:39Z")
I just found [this Vice article: **Inside the Surreal, Sleepy World of a Ben Carson Rally as His Campaign Falls Apart** > [@](#): > > After the South Carolina primary, he said that “the political class” only has control if America gives it control. “That’s the message I’m going to be taking across the nation.” So then, I guess, this is to be a traveling public service announcement of one man’s hallucinated interpretation of America, the earth, the history of the universe. > > He is a man who will never be king, but until then, he and all these people will stand together dreaming about castles. ]([http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-surreal-sleepy-world-of-a-ben-carson-rally](http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-surreal-sleepy-world-of-a-ben-carson-rally)) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/843 "2016-02-23T23:44:47Z")
Merciful Og, Ben, kill your campaign already. Put yourself out of our misery. It’s not even sick-funny any more, it’s like watching a Dunning-Krugered no-talent in a talent contest, it’s like watching a piece of roadkill that moans and wheezes and still won’t die. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/844 "2016-02-24T00:04:15Z")
God _wanted_ him to run. This can’t be just one of God’s sick jokes; he must have a \*plan \*for Ben. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/845 "2016-02-24T00:10:26Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > God _wanted_ him to run. This can’t be just one of God’s sick jokes; he must have a \*plan \*for Ben. Those two things were never mutually exclusive in all of human history before, why now? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/846 "2016-02-24T00:17:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Also, he’s trying to have it both ways: he’s blacker than Obama because of his experiences, but he’s mad that people don’t acknowledge his blackness because he’s a Republican. In what world does he think being blacker than anybody else will help him win the Republican nomination? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/847 "2016-02-24T01:11:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > God _wanted_ him to run. This can’t be just one of God’s sick jokes; he must have a \*plan \*for Ben. _I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors but I think God’s got a sick sense of humor and when Ben dies I expect to find him laughing_ ---
**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:** [February 24, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/848 "2016-02-24T02:54:37Z")
I’m in El Dorado County California and I saw my first Ben Carson for President signs yesterday. I wouldn’t have picked RunBenRun as my slogan, but what do I know? ---
**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:** [February 24, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/849 "2016-02-24T03:01:42Z")
♪ Ben, you’re always running here and there, You feel you’re not wanted anywhere… ♫ -Ben, from Michael Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/850 "2016-02-24T03:12:29Z")
Phew! Every time this thread gets bumped I’m scared he dropped out. Keep it up Ben! Don’t listen to the haters! ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/851 "2016-02-24T03:44:01Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > nah. > Clearly a brain surgeon requires far more training than an auto mechanic. However, more training in their respective fields is all that separates the two careers, these days. Surgeons practice a trade more than a profession. Years ago, medical doctors were students of the liberal arts and the respect given them was based on that overall knowledge as much as for their ability to wield a scalpel. Carson is nothing more than a highly skilled mechanic. He demonstrates no evidence that he possesses any knowledge outside his particular trade. > > (I know both MDs and CMs who are very well educated. Nothing about either trade prohibits a person from educating himself or herself to be a truly well rounded individual. However, the presumption that all MDs are so well-rounded is an anachronistic belief–that also denigrates mechanics–that ignores the current reality and Carson is a clear example of that.) Yes, “brain surgeon” is still one of those fields in the West that we associate with high intelligence, but in fact you don’t want surgeons thinking outside the box and theorizing all the time. Mostly it’s just about studying the material out there and then following a set process reliably. You don’t need especially high intelligence for this, though you do need focus to get through all the studying. (IANA neurosurgeon but I have a postgrad neuroscience degree and have collaborated with neurosurgeons). _That said_, I’m not saying that Carson’s ignorance / fallacious thinking on certain issues is proof of not having a high IQ. Very bright people can come to very dumb conclusions when they choose not to apply rigor / logic to particular areas of their life (e.g. religion, social issues), and we’re all ignorant of many things. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/852 "2016-02-24T05:21:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Ben Carson Tells Supporters: ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’](http://news.yahoo.com/video/ben-carson-tells-supporters-im-005836958.html) > No kidding. 😃 That’s the most persuasive campaign sound bite he’s given yet! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/853 "2016-03-02T19:20:41Z")
Carson won’t attend the debate tomorrow but isn’t officially suspending his campaign. Ben Carson doesn’t see ‘a political path forward,’ won’t go to debate > **[Ben Carson doesn't see 'a political path forward' | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/02/politics/ben-carson-doesnt-see-a-political-path-forward-wont-go-to-debate/index.html)** > > Ben Carson doesn't "see a political path forward" in the Republican presidential nomination process, and will not attend Thursday's GOP presidential debate ---
**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:** [March 2, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/854 "2016-03-02T20:30:58Z")
So he’ll deliver a speech on Friday with more details, probably to make it official. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/855 "2016-03-02T20:35:22Z")
Nooo! Keep fighting Carson! The U.S. needs it’s first narcoleptic President! Also he steals useful percentage points from Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/856 "2016-03-02T21:09:32Z")
[Ben Carson, Seeing No ‘Path Forward,’ Signals End to Bid](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/ben-carson.html) Is he going to endorse Trump tonight? ---
**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:** [March 2, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/857 "2016-03-02T21:16:53Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > [Ben Carson, Seeing No ‘Path Forward,’ Signals End to Bid](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/ben-carson.html) > > Is he going to endorse Trump tonight? Scott Walker. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/858 "2016-03-02T21:33:53Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > [Ben Carson, Seeing No ‘Path Forward,’ Signals End to Bid](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/03/us/politics/ben-carson.html) > > Is he going to endorse Trump tonight? The dodo is going the way of his namesake. Well, he got what he was after: notoriety and attention for his book sales. Hopefully, he’ll never gain traction again after this dismal showing. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/859 "2016-03-02T21:59:23Z")
Armstrong Williams says that Carson will not endorse any candidate until after the nomination and will probably never run for another public office ever again. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554/860 "2016-03-02T22:03:31Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Ben Carson doesn’t see ‘a political path forward,’ won’t go to debate… Probably hard to see much of anything when you never open your eyes all the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-carson-for-president-thread/729554.md?page=44)