Salon
Sean Illing
[Bloggers note: Sadly, Ben Carson is a bible thumping Adventist. While I consider myself a very religious, Christian, right-wing conservative, it is a mistake for a political candidate to boast their religious beliefs during an election. This was the cause of Mitt Romney's last minute failure in 2012.]
Ben Carson is finished: The one-time Republican frontrunner continues his free fall
Carson's foreign policy ignorance is death knell for campaign after latest terror attacks.
Ben Carson has had a great run. He has no experience, no knowledge of the issues, and no real inclination to learn the things he has to learn in order to run for office. In every debate so far, he’s embarrassed himself with meandering non-answers. Oftentimes it’s not clear Carson even understands the question he’s been asked, and that’s pretty much the case across topics.
Remarkably, none of that has mattered in this race. Carson has slithered his way to the top of the polls in recent months, and he appeared well-positioned at least until the Iowa caucuses. Carson’s only real competition thus far has been Trump. And the leading “establishment” candidate at this point is Rubio, who remains roughly seven points behind Carson in most of the polls.
But things have changed.
It appears the recent terrorist attacks in Paris have awakened GOP primary voters from their slumber – well, sort of. And that’s bad news for Carson, who just had one of his worst weeks as a presidential candidate. In case you missed it, Carson stumbled last week when he mistakenly claimed that China was militarily involved in Syria. He then failed to name the nations he would ask to join a coalition against ISIS.
Things spiraled further out of control for the retired neurosurgeon when his own foreign policy adviser questioned his understanding of and interest in the issues. “Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of information about the Middle East,” said Duane R. Clarridge, a chief adviser to Carson’s campaign. Clarridge added that “Mr. Carson needed weekly conference calls briefing him on foreign policy so ‘we can make him smart.’’’
Even in a party that devalues experience and champions know-nothingism, this is a potential death knell for Carson’s campaign.
Read more at: http://www.salon.com/2015/11/23/after_paris_attacks_carsons_campaign_nosedives_in_iowa/
Reuters/Alvin Baez