Walker is a remote possibility. It would be good to see a genuine right wing whack-a-doodle go down in flames. But there is no way that Ben Carson gets the nomination, the odds against this happening exceed the number of subatomic particles in the universe.
You don’t sound terrified enough about this.
I’ve followed Carson for decades. I’m confident that he can be packaged into a fine candidate just like all the schmucks who got into politics because they couldn’t succeed in the real world.
Why such enthusiasm for him? What does he stand for that resonates so strongly for you?
I’m not enthusiastic about Carson, but I do respect him as a man, and most people who have followed him for a long time do as well. I doubt many have been impressed with his “campaigning” so far, but he’s a smart guy. Give him a staff to tell him what to say and how to say it and he’ll be as polished as Jeb Bush in no time.
For the Presidency, I care less about issues than the competence and integrity of the man running for the office. The President’s job is to execute the law and manage the federal government. My problem with Carson is that nothing in his background prepares him for the Presidency. So I’d only vote for him if the alternative was worse.
That’s why I’d probably vote for Joe Biden if he was the Democratic nomination. There’s virtue in having a man who can’t lie convincingly. Plus he’s a very serious man and one reason he often mouths off is because he doesn’t have patience for political games. He now has the necessary experience, he’s honest to a fault, he’s a straight talker, and he even has a history of working well with Republicans. Almost all of the deals made between Obama and the Republicans have heavily involved Joe Biden.
I realize this is the Republican thread, but I just wanted to make clear why I take Carson seriously. The man reeks of integrity and like Biden he seems incapable of filtering himself. But unlike Biden, he might listen to his staff better. Maybe. We’ll find out. Right now few are paying attention. When Ben Carson starts making big ad buys highlighting his biography and giving speeches to the masses, he might be doing better as a candidate by that point.
Update on Carson’s staff hires: it looks like so far he’s been favoring old Gingrich associates:
They say that’s just coincidental, and it might be true. Could just be that with all the big names going to Walker and Bush so far that the best veterans still out there worked for Gingrich.
I’m glad I was sitting down as I read this. A potential vote for Joe Biden? Color me amazed!
You’re not going to see Carson make the big ad buys. Since Jeb Bush has more money than Carson, he obviously has more right to speech than Carson and will rout him in the primaries.
And a good thing for Carson, too. When he does get to speak, the result is always embarrassing.
Carson seems like a very capable surgeon, and very smart with regards to surgery, but whenever he’s spoken of things beyond the medical field he seems as dumb as Louie Gohmert. What has he said that makes you think he’s “competent” in any area beyond neurosurgery?
As for integrity, that’s a nice thing, but I’ll take a lying realist over an honest fantasy-believer (like Carson) any day.
I have seen nothing to indicate any level of competence beyond surgery. All I’ve seen is intelligence and integrity, which count for a lot, but doesn’t mean he would do well as Commander-in-Chief or in managing the federal government.
Like I said, the only way I support Ben Carson is if the Democratic alternative is unacceptable. I find Biden to be more than acceptable, ditto for Jim Webb. Hillary Clinton I’m open to as soon as I can figure out exactly who she is and what she brings to the table.
Of course I’d prefer a suitable Republican, but I’d rather continue with the Democrats in the White House than elect a screwup who will make it that much more unlikely that we’ll be able to elect a good Republican in the future.
Where have you seen intelligence (or integrity, for that matter)? What has he said (beyond anything about neurosurgery) that is intelligent? What about all the Gohmert-level stupidity that he’s said?
You can’t elect a good Republican until you can nominate a good Republican.
Just sayin’.
Just looking at the names of the front-runners, one doesn’t know whether to laugh or to cry:
Bush Walker Huckabee Carson Paul Christie Rubio Cruz Perry Jindal Santorum Kasich
It would be too generous even to call this list the “second string.” Where are the superstars: Brownback, Keyes, Palin, Bachmann, etc.?
If it helps, I heard this morning that Donald Trump is seriously considering a run at 2016. Finally! Someone worth our consideration! 
Donald Trump is not going to run in this or any other year for this or any other office. He’s even more reluctant than Romney to release his financial dealings and tax returns- it just isn’t going to happen.
Anyone checked the sportsbook odds on Romney recently? Wasn’t 80-1 offered when he dropped out? I like that bet since, if the GOP comes to its senses and decides to avoid the most incompetent candidates, Romney is draftable. It would disappoint the base again, but Romney might have won in 2012 if all the base agreed that Mormons were Christians. What do the Koch Brothers think of Mitt? that’s a key question no?
Here are best back odds offered at BetFair.Com for the 2016 GOP nomination:
Bush 3.3
Walker 5.3
Rubio 5.8
Paul 8.2
Christie 19.5
Cruz 21
Huckabee 27
Carson 34
Perry 36
Ryan 36
Pence 40
Trump 50
Santorum 75
Fiorina 75
Martinez 75
Jindal 80
Palin 100
Romney 100
I’d happily take the £12 offer to back Romney – that’s £1200 if he’s the nominee, right? I’d take the £11 to back at 80-1 also. (Jindal BTW, has best back offered of 75-1 to win in November, seemingly inconsistent with the 80-1 to be nominee.)
And, you can’t. The base won’t have it.
Oh please. That article was almost as content-free as your posts. They took some quotes, slapped that title on it, then dropped the mic. Lazy.