Friday, November 7, 2014

The Doctor is Running

It sounds as if there will be a full fledged--out of the closet so to speak--republican candidate running for the GOP's 2016 presidential nomination by the end of the weekend.

Yes, while people like Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, and even big Mitt Romney himself hem and haw about joining the chase, ABC is reporting Dr. Ben Carson will charge out of the gate within the next 48 hours.

Carson, an African American, is a retired neurosurgeon of note. Most famously he is the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins who were connected at the head. It was considered such a remarkable feat a made for TV movie was produced and shown on the cable channel TNT. Cuba Gooding Jr. played his part.

At this point that is all behind him. Now he is a rootin' tootin' conservative hot shot. Besides writing six books he has been a weekly op-ed columnist for the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Washington Times. In addition he has been a regular guest commentator on FOX News which shouldn't be surprising. After all, FOX will air the opinions of just about any conservative who can string together more than three coherent sentences at a time.

Because of his speeches and books he has become such a hot commodity a, "Draft Ben Carson for President Committee" was formed.

In response to questions about him running for the highest office in the land he frequently said he'd leave it up to God. As late as a month ago, during an interview on Fusion, he told the host he didn't want to be president because, in his words, "Why would any sane person want to do that?" Moments later in the same conversation he said so many people were asking him to run, he would, despite the whole sanity issue, consider seeking the presidency. Indeed, when the cause is so great and the people demand it, why not consider risking your mental health in order to move into the White House and take charge? He also said he'd come to a decision early next year on whether, or not to run, presumably after conducting in depth talks with the Supreme Being.

Well, apparently the good Lord spoke to him a little earlier than expected because, according to ABC, the newly minted Carson campaign will kick off things with a 40 minute advertisement this weekend. It will run in 22 states plus Washington D.C. The ad is reportedly shot in the style of a documentary which will introduce the public to Carson's personal history, qualifications, and philosophy.

So what is his philosophy? Well there are a couple of hints. According to Wikipedia during a 2013 speech Dr. Carson called the Affordable Care Act, "The worst thing that has happened to this country since slavery." In the same speech he quoted Vladimir Lenin as saying, "Socialized medicine is the keystone to the establishment of a socialist state." That Lenin never said it is of little consequence. The conservative crowd believes he did, or at least thinks he would have if he'd thought things through a little.

On another occasion he showed up on Sean Hannity's FOX venue. While explaining to us that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, he appeared to equate homosexuals with pedophiles and people who love animals a tad too much. During the controversy which followed he claimed he had not only been quoted out of context, but was also completely misunderstood. At a later date he apologized for his choice of words.

Yes, it looks like he'll fit right in with the other clowns, grifters, and sociopaths who will seek the GOP nomination in a couple of years.

Can he win though?

He'll certainly do better than the sexual deviant Herman Cain, the memory challenged Rick Perry, and the ever pert and sassy  Michelle Bachmann. However the truth is, in this 21st century political reality, he has to convince people like Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers he is not only a true believer, but once in office he'll perform as a loyal employee. That's right. A four year ticket to the oval office is not only hard to score, but so expensive it makes the heart skip a beat.

Hey, if the money people don't believe you're their guy, or think you can win, there isn't a 40 minute ad created anywhere in the world which can carry you through a two year trek across America as you try to convince people you are the next best thing.

The truth is, at this moment, the only people who think Ben Carson is credible are the mainstream media looking to hike the political news ratings and his less than impressive, but wildly enthusiastic supporters. Let's face it, first, he can't win a republican primary in the south which is crucial. Second, he hasn't faced a full on nationally televised debate--you know--where someone actually disagrees with him. And, as much as we say we hate professional politicians, we really do get queasy when a newbie struts into the arena and claims he has all the answers.

The good physician is, quite frankly, chasing windmills and while some will believe his campaign is idealistically admirable, many others will consider it an exercise in doomed egotism

Doc, in the end, my suggestion is don't burn your bridges at FOX News. You're probably going to need that gig in the next few years no matter how slick your ad is this weekend.




sic vita est


11-7-14

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