# So tell me about Ben Carson... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 2, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154 "2014-12-02T19:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/121 "2014-12-14T04:16:51Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Do 65% agree on what the right direction would be? Probably not. What does that have to do with the veracity of the book blurb on [realbencarson.com](http://realbencarson.com)? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/122 "2014-12-26T11:47:28Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [65% of Americans feel that the nation is moving in the wrong direction.](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track). Given the results of the November midterms, they’re probably right. We can only hope that President Obama is able to mitigate that somewhat. ---
**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, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/123 "2015-01-06T16:34:30Z")
I seem to be a bit late to the party. Carson is a man of undoubtedly impressive personal accomplishments. He’s also a man of absolutely bizarre personal beliefs, and I would be terrified to live under his presidency. It will never happen, anyway; he’s much too valuable as the black guy Republicans can say they’d vote for to refute accusations of racism, like Colin Powell (though I probably would have voted for Powell.) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/124 "2015-01-06T17:29:29Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > POTUS is overkill. He should run for Congress if he wants to hold public office. I don’t want to wade through all of this thread and the back and forthing but this post - the first reply in the thread - was the most sensible thing said. If Carson is serious about a political career he could pretty much HAVE a seat in Congress if he wanted it. Otherwise, shooting straight for POTUS just looks like he’s trying to up his speaking fees after he’s out of the race. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/125 "2015-01-07T16:23:08Z")
[Carson accused of plagiarism.](http://www.salon.com/2015/01/07/conservative_hero_ben_carson_hit_with_plagiarism_scandal/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/126 "2015-01-07T16:24:55Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I seem to be a bit late to the party. Carson is a man of undoubtedly impressive personal accomplishments. He’s also a man of absolutely bizarre personal beliefs, and I would be terrified to live under his presidency. It will never happen, anyway; he’s much too valuable as the black guy Republicans can say they’d vote for to refute accusations of racism, like Colin Powell (though I probably would have voted for Powell.) What bothered me about Powell was, back in the early '90s everybody was talking him up as a presidential prospect, just because he was a successful general, even though **nobody seemed to know anything about his politics.** And for my part I still don’t know. At least we know all about Carson’s. ---
**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, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/127 "2015-01-07T16:28:57Z")
That’s kind of what I liked about Powell. The fact that he didn’t spend all his time talking about his politics suggested to me that (1) he was moderate, and (2) he was not an ideologue. It’s like how you give the job of king to the one guy who doesn’t want to be king, because he’s the only one that can be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/128 "2015-01-07T17:09:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s kind of what I liked about Powell. The fact that he didn’t spend all his time talking about his politics suggested to me that (1) he was moderate, and (2) he was not an ideologue. It’s like how you give the job of king to the one guy who doesn’t want to be king, because he’s the only one that can be trusted. But, it’s not merely an administrative job, it involves policy choices. I’m not voting for any candidate for president until I have some notion of what he would do in office, besides just signing things. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/129 "2015-01-07T19:58:55Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Probably not. What does that have to do with the veracity of the book blurb on [realbencarson.com](http://realbencarson.com)? It has everything to do with it when someone uses that blurb to insinuate that everyone of those 65% agrees with the direction they want to go. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/130 "2015-01-09T22:28:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Ben Carson is a [creationist](http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dr-ben-carson-creationist/). He’s a 6-day creationist too – he literally believes that God created the earth in 6 days. A nitpick: that article draws the inference from him being a 7th Day Adventist. You could draw the same inference from someone being a Judaist or Christian. You could similarly draw the inference that he’s pro slavery etc ad nauseam. ---
**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 9, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/131 "2015-01-09T23:05:53Z")
It’s not much of a stretch when you take it in conjunction with the quotes in post 106, especially: > [@](#): > > He claimed that “no one has the knowledge” of the age of the earth “based on the Bible,” adding that “carbon dating and all of these things really don’t mean anything to a God who has the ability to create anything at any point in time.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/132 "2015-01-09T23:21:05Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [65% of Americans feel that the nation is moving in the wrong direction.](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track). Does that qualify as the “vast majority”? Do you think “I don’t believe it so everyone else must also” makes one a “drooling victim of confirmation bias”? Quite frankly, I see 65% as a firm majority but not at all “vast”. 80% is a “vast” majority, a peak that this poll reached three years ago, during the shutdown. That does not make a very convincing case in support of Ben Carson’s agenda. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/133 "2015-01-12T02:04:02Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Carson accused of plagiarism.](http://www.salon.com/2015/01/07/conservative_hero_ben_carson_hit_with_plagiarism_scandal/) He’s apologized and says he’ll fix it: [Ben Carson Apologizes For Plagiarism, Says He's Working To 'Rectify The Situation' | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/ben-carson-plagiarism_n_6437186.html) ---
**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 12, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/134 "2015-01-12T14:45:54Z")
Wonder how they’ll fix it. Retitle the book The Best of Overwrought Conservatives On the Internet (Carson, B., _ed_.), perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/135 "2015-01-26T15:13:31Z")
BTW, is Carson a stroke patient? His face always looks kind of . . . crooked. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/136 "2015-01-26T16:34:10Z")
I never thought that myself, and his Wiki bio says nothing about it: [Ben Carson - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/137 "2015-01-26T19:14:44Z")
I think the crooked face notion is exemplified by [the first picture on this page](http://www.christianpost.com/news/ben-carson-calls-abortion-human-sacrifice-says-america-no-better-than-ancient-heathens-122586/). Not sure whether it looks like a neurological issue or is just quirky squinching. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/138 "2015-01-26T21:19:48Z")
Instead of “duck face”, maybe it’s something else? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/139 "2015-01-27T00:56:04Z")
Of course if your perspective is that the Presidency should be occupied by a person who believes that the world was literally created in 6 days, who believes that those who advocate for gay marriage rights are the same as those who support child molestation, who believes that the ACA is akin to slavery (he favor price controls on health insurance with governmental responsibility for catastrophic care coverage instead), that import tariffs must be dramatically increased, and that flat tax is the way to go (tithing was good enough for the Bible), then maybe a person with no qualifications who expresses your views is your candidate. If that is not a good match then maybe not. His main qualification seems to be the outsider status. Given that some of his beliefs will be considered whackadoodle by the Right and many others by the Center and the Left he is likely to maintain that position. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154/140 "2015-01-27T03:52:48Z")
Ben Carson provides an interesting approach to political analysis. I mean, if he were virtually _any other_ random GOP pol, I could easily write him off as just another Republican lunatic, but in his case he’s so incredibly accomplished in the realm of neurosurgery that I don’t think that words such as _idiot_ or _dumbass_ can justifiably be applied to him. No, he’s an undeniably smart & accomplished guy in the context of neurosurgery - which is certainly nothing to scoff at - but his views on everything else are just so Gawddamned _out there_ & _stupid_ that I honestly can’t even understand how somebody with his intellectual acumen even came to believe such nonsense in the first place. His accomplishments in neurosurgery are exemplary, yes, but his positions & beliefs categorically, resolutely, absolutely disqualify him from the Presidency. Full stop. Still, I second another poster’s assertion in this thread that if Carson really wanted to pursue a career in public service, then he could basically _have_ a seat in the House if he ever chose to run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-about-ben-carson/706154.md?page=8)