Dream scenario for GOP: Dr. Ben Carson for president
Seemingly out of the same kind of nowhere an Illinois State Senator named Barack Obama emerged from as a keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Dr. Ben Carson and his anti-PC mantra has tongues wagging on the right—especially in conservative media circles—following his remarks in front of President Obama and the First Lady at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday. The non-verbal reaction from the President during Dr. Carson’s candid but respectful speech had not been seen since that infamous first debate with the aforementioned Romney. …
Well, for those who doubt Carson’s presidential aspirations, the retort here is a Freudian one: There are no accidents. There’s a REASON he decided to broach topics such as our crippling debt, healthcare woes and the need for tax reform (via a flat tax) with the President sitting just five feet from him. There’s also a reason he chose to appear in the friendly confines of Fox News the following evening to keep the momentum from the Prayer Breakfast going (and don’t bother with the “plug a book to make more money” argument…the guy is already worth millions). …
Of course, the political calendar says we may be getting ahead ourselves (in addition to locking up the Hannity vote, the Wall Street Journal already has an editorial out titled “Ben Carson for President”). There’s still 44 months to Election Day, and Hillary, Rubio, Ryan, Christie, and Biden all haven’t even declared their intentions yet.
Blowback
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Yeah ahead of ourselves because in 2004 Barry Obama had no idea he’d ever want to seek the presidency.
vityas on February 12, 2013 at 6:54 PM
I don’t even know what this guy’s positions on the issues are – or if he knows where, geographically, Iran is.
Reminds me of the hype surrounding the “Draft Petraeus” movement – when no one knew anything about him at all. Or the “Draft Colin Powell” movement before that even.
Kinda glad those things didn’t pan out.
HondaV65 on February 12, 2013 at 6:57 PM
The debt is abhorent to him, he has smart ideas on health care reform, he can’t stand political correctness … yes, he’s a potential conservative dream.
He gave the 2004 Dem convention keynote. It’s axiomatic that he’s being considered for POTUS, like Chris Christie for the Repubs this year.
Paul-Cincy on February 12, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Michael SteeleHerman CainBen Carson — the GOP’s next great black hope!
It’s striking to me that when ordinary black people are mentioned on Hot Air, the conversation generally degenerates into talk of moochers, looters and welfare queens. This kind of talk repels minorities (not just blacks), who have fled the party in droves. In the last election, 88% of Romney voters were white. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/11/mitt_romney_white_voters_the_gop_candidate_s_race_based_monochromatic_campaign.html
But a black person who gives a good speech immediately becomes the “magic negro,” beloved by all. Why is this?
cam2 on February 12, 2013 at 7:50 PM
I’m looking forward to seeing who you eventually endorse so I can scratch him/her off my list.
crrr6 on February 12, 2013 at 7:53 PM
The thing that I feel most appealing is that he is the anti-Obama in every way:
-Obama came from privilege, Dr. Carson came from nothing
-Affirmative action is Obama’s life story, while there are no affirmative action pediatric neurosurgeons, let alone head the department of one of the leading hospitals in the country
-Obama has spent his career sucking off the public teat, Dr. Carson has spent his career as a non-politician fixing kids’ brains
All that said, there is an inherent risk to selecting a non-politician as a presidential candidate – especially a Republican. The media will not be running working for your opponent, and an unseasoned candidate is easier target for the left-wing hyenas.
crrr6 on February 12, 2013 at 8:10 PM
Meh. The Dems and media would make him out to be a total moron.
More practically speaking, as someone who’s never had to deal with politics, I strongly suspect he holds at least a few positions that the party base would consider unacceptable.
LukeinNE on February 12, 2013 at 8:35 PM
What on earth are you talking about? Obama was raised by a single mother who periodically had to rely on welfare benefits to survive and it has been widely reported that he attended school in Hawaii on a scholarship. If he was a beneficiary of affirmative action in college or law school, you have certainly cited no evidence.
Likewise, how do you know Carson received no affirmative action consideration in his college and med school careers? It is quite common, especially among low income minority students, of which he is one. The fact that he is a neurosurgeon or department chair certainly does not preclude his receiving favorable consideration in college or med school admissions in the past. Why would you think so?
cam2 on February 12, 2013 at 8:42 PM
When did either of those men give a speech as illuminating as Dr. Carson? He is clearly a strong fiscal and social conservative. The only question will be where his thinking lies on foreign policy. Clearly intelligent and accomplished, I still can’t understand why he is inferior to any of the names being put out there in the GOP orbit and for that matter Hillary Clinton for 2016.
milemarker2020 on February 12, 2013 at 8:47 PM
Do a lot of kids from little means attend prep schools whose tuition rates in 2012 are $20k/year? Show me the evidence that he went there on any kind of academic scholarship.
I have a well-connected, left-wing brother-in-law who spent 7 years of his life at Columbia between undergrad and law school. He voted for Obama 2x and has told me that the folks he knows through his alumni contacts freely admit Obama was a lousy student. IIRC, Obama even wrote an oped once in the NYT before he became president that he got a big help from affirmative action.
crrr6 on February 12, 2013 at 8:54 PM
hope it is not the same kind of seemingly nowhere ..
In 2004 Obama was running for U.S. Senate. By that run he was being staged for President. He was not much of a U.S. Senator. He needed to be a U.S. Senator so he could run for President
David Horowitz’ Discover the Networks has a magnificent compilation. Some exerpts of the bobsled run to figurehead:
THe book coincided with his run for Senate …
Obama was so staged, he should have had an actors union card
It is worth reading every line of the Horowitz web site write up. He provides a history that otherwise might have been erased for all time
entagor on February 12, 2013 at 9:16 PM
He went to Punahou School on a needs-based scholarship because he grew up poor. See,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14obama.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://m.npr.org/story/162786014
And your evidence that he received affirmative action consideration in his college admissions is your brother-in-law and an old op-ed you think you remember? How about a cite? And what evidence do you have that Carson did not receive affirmative action preferences?
Frankly, the assumption that any accomplished person got where he/she is because of affirmative action is bizarre to me. It may help you get accepted to a college, but how is that different than legacy admissions, sports scholarships, etc., etc. Once you’re there, you have to do the work, and since university exams are generally graded anonymously (by number rather than name), affirmative action doesn’t help you succeed.
cam2 on February 12, 2013 at 9:28 PM