Salon.com has a long article shredding some idiotic things that declared-GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson says about fighting war. I got about one paragraph in and then stopped, when I realized something --
Why should I or anyone care even the slightest whit what Ben Carson has to say as a "presidential candidate"?? Yes, I know he declared he's running. For all I know he's qualified to get on the ballot in several primary states. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he just said he's running and that's good enough. High standards, indeed. But let's assume he has qualified. Let's even assume that he's qualified in all 50 states, and let's throw in Puerto Rico for good measure. I'm guessing, too, that he's a very fine neurosurgeon. I have no idea if his books are good, but some have been popular, so let's give him that, for the heck of it. Let's even add that he whenever writes a column for the Washington Times, it might be really wonderful, for all I know. Moreover, George W. Bush awarded him the Medal of Freedom. (Though in fairness, Mr. Bush gave out the Medal of Freedom like it was Halloween candy. If you helped suck the nation into the Iraq War. you could get a Medal of Freedom from President Bush.) The question still stands. Why on earth should anyone care one whit what "Ben Carson" has to say as an actual, supposedly serious "presidential candidate"? This is a real job, being President of the United States, y'know. It's quite difficult, I'm told, and is very important. It not only makes someone the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. armed forces, but the Most Powerful Man in the World!! (Or woman, if Hilary Clinton runs, and wins.) So why is any media wasting precious airspace covering Ben Carson? They could use that same time to cover something more important -- anything more important, like who will Jennifer Lawrence be wearing on the Red Carpet for Oscar Night? And when I ask about why is the media wasting even a hairsbreath, I include the conservative media who like that what Ben Carson writes is quite conservative and that he talks about faith. Because this is the same conservative media that did its best to try and shred Barack Obama when he ran for President, crying that he didn't have enough experience, still crying it -- even though he has six years experience being President, at this point. But he had been a U.S. Senator for two years and had been an elected state senator in Illinois for 12 years. Compared to Ben Carson, Sarah Palin was highly qualified to be president. And Sarah Palin was barely qualified to be mayor of Wasilla. I understand that Ben Carson falls into that same category of "Goofy Republican Candidates Who Want to Get the Attention So They Can Boost Their Speaking Fees on the Lecture Circuit" -- like Donald Trump and the Pizza Guy. But just because he gets a place at the dinner table doesn't mean anyone has to listen, anymore than you'd listen to your drunk, crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. And I understand that being a goofball candidate makes for "good copy" to the media, if your definition of "good copy" is a few steps below, "I can see Russia from my front yard." Now, I suspect some people might be wondering why I myself am spending so much time writing here about Ben Carson. It's a reasonable thing to ponder, but I'm not discussing his positions -- I didn't even mention what the Salon article was about -- just the reality of him existing. And this is more about the media and its priorities. Ben Carson isn't getting the Republican nomination for president. For one thing, he's black, and the GOP has shown for the past six years what they think about having a black man in the White House. And of course there's the whole, "he's head-bangingly unqualified" thing. Ben Carson isn't going to get 1% of the vote. He's not getting named to the ticket. And anyone who thinks otherwise, I'm happy to make a cash-money bet for any large amount, straight up. He's not a "long shot." He's a "the water pistol is empty" no shot. The point here is that, as empty as I think most of the serious GOP candidates are, one of them will be get the nomination. And I want to hear them, and I want the public to hear them. Because this is important what they have to say. It's important to hear Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) not support every child getting vaccinations. It's important to hear Scott Walker (R-WI) "punt" on whether he believes in evolution. And every second spent on Ben Carson and whatever other clown candidate may decide to join in takes away from what is seriously important, time we will never get back. And covering the Ben Carsons of the world only serves to encourage the next media whore who wants his face in your living room, much like the egomaniacal fool who jump over the wall at a baseball stadium and run around the field because the camera covers him -- before the security guards body slam him into the ground and hauled off to jail. Now, that might stop Ben Carson from his kind of "running", too. If Dr. Carson knew that at some point, he would get body slammed with a crushing force, he might give this a second thought. Maybe not. But it sure would make his self-aggrandizing fake campaign more interesting for the viewing public.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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