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Is Ben Carson Running for President?

pbrauer

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This is a fascinating read, I'm not sure I buy it, but the author makes a strong case.


http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/ben-carson-running-for-president.html

excerpt:


But now Carson actually is running for president. Or is he? It is hard to tell. Conservative politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture. Declaring yourself a presidential candidate gives you access to millions of dollars' worth of free media attention that can build a valuable brand. So the mere fact that Carson calls himself a presidential candidate does not prove he is actually running for president rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to build his brand. Indeed, it is possible to be actually leading the polls without seriously trying to win the presidency.


And the notion that Carson could be president is preposterous. The problem is not only that he has never run for elected office. He has never managed a large organization; he has not worked in and around public policy, and he lacks a competent grasp of issues. His stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which his professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish. He mostly thrills audiences by scoffing at evolution and insisting Muslims be barred from the presidency, stances he cannot even defend coherently.

Snip
 
But now Clinton actually is running for president. Or is she? It is hard to tell. Liberal politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture. Declaring yourself a presidential candidate gives you access to millions of dollars' worth of free media attention that can build a valuable brand. So the mere fact that Clinton calls herself a presidential candidate does not prove she is actually running for president rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to build her brand. Indeed, it is possible to be actually leading the polls without seriously trying to win the presidency. Bill Clinton earned over 45 million making speeches, while Hillary was Sec of State.


And the notion that Clinton could be president is preposterous. The problem is not only that she has only run once for elected office. She has managed a large organization for 4 years; she has not transparently worked in and around public policy, and she lacks a competent grasp of issues. Her stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which her professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish. He mostly thrills audiences by scoffing at evolution and insisting Republicans be barred from the presidency, stances he cannot even defend coherently.
 
This is a fascinating read, I'm not sure I buy it, but the author makes a strong case.


http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/ben-carson-running-for-president.html

excerpt:


But now Carson actually is running for president. Or is he? It is hard to tell. Conservative politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture. Declaring yourself a presidential candidate gives you access to millions of dollars' worth of free media attention that can build a valuable brand. So the mere fact that Carson calls himself a presidential candidate does not prove he is actually running for president rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to build his brand. Indeed, it is possible to be actually leading the polls without seriously trying to win the presidency.


And the notion that Carson could be president is preposterous. The problem is not only that he has never run for elected office. He has never managed a large organization; he has not worked in and around public policy, and he lacks a competent grasp of issues. His stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which his professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish. He mostly thrills audiences by scoffing at evolution and insisting Muslims be barred from the presidency, stances he cannot even defend coherently.

Snip

Sounds like Democrats are scared to death of Carson.
 
This is a fascinating read, I'm not sure I buy it, but the author makes a strong case.


http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/ben-carson-running-for-president.html

excerpt:


But now Carson actually is running for president. Or is he? It is hard to tell. Conservative politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture. Declaring yourself a presidential candidate gives you access to millions of dollars' worth of free media attention that can build a valuable brand. So the mere fact that Carson calls himself a presidential candidate does not prove he is actually running for president rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to build his brand. Indeed, it is possible to be actually leading the polls without seriously trying to win the presidency.


And the notion that Carson could be president is preposterous. The problem is not only that he has never run for elected office. He has never managed a large organization; he has not worked in and around public policy, and he lacks a competent grasp of issues. His stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which his professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish. He mostly thrills audiences by scoffing at evolution and insisting Muslims be barred from the presidency, stances he cannot even defend coherently.

Snip

56111407.jpg
 
of course carson is polishing his brand
not unlike trump or any other candidate
these folks are competing for votes
that means they must market themselves

i would find the proposition that THE donald is not actually running for office, but is instead a spoiler, pretending to run at the behest of his friend, bill clinton, to dilute the support of the eventual republican candidate, to be a more plausible conspiracy theory than the one you have advanced. trump is well positioned to very publicly criticize each of the other GOP prospects, diminishing each of them in front of the nation's voters

there is a huge, ignorant teabagging base out there looking for someone to follow. and an ostensibly smart, Christian fellow like carson, with a strong CV and a soft spoken demeanor seems to be the guy they want to support. these folks tend to be uninformed. but they are are also incredibly devoted. look at the long run palin had with them. they vote with their gut and their collective gut says carson is someone who is a straight shooter. now, those who actually focus on what he is saying realize the guy is crazy as a loon; especially for a man of scientific training and experience. but the tea party members are not looking for facts; they are looking to support someone who resonates with them. and that explains carson's popularity. the voters with a brain are still disbursed among the other nine (plus) GOP prospects. as each of the others fall out of the race, their supporters will go to another candidate not named ben carson ... thereby making him another also ran when this is over. if you don't believe me, a guy whose platform was 9-9-9 was the republican leader four years ago. where the hell did he wind up (other than defending himself from allegations of making unwelcome sexual overtures)
 
I think the same can be said of Hillary. She's focused on growing her wealth, win or lose.

I enjoy listening to Carson but I think he's just the "rent is too damn high" candidate.
 
Sounds like Democrats are scared to death of Carson.

They have good reason to be. Hillary's poll numbers have nowhere to go but down from here on.

Poll: Clinton Ties Carson in '''16 Matchup, but Tops Other GOP Candidates - NBC News

But against Ben Carson, who is now leading the GOP horserace in the NBC/WSJ poll, Clinton finds herself in a tied contest, 47 percent to 47 percent.

The reason why Carson performs better versus Clinton than the rest of the GOP field is due to Carson's standing among independent voters.

Carson leads Clinton by 13 points among independents (47 percent to 34 percent).
 
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