Maybe by the time you’re reading this, Ben Carson will have finally dropped out of the race for president. Unqualified, misinformed and often incoherent, it’s time for Carson to raise a white flag. It’s been time. So, why hasn’t he yet? Carson claims he is waiting for diminishing support, but apparently polling numbers in the single digits haven’t diminished enough for the guy who seems to stick around once the party is over.
Once upon a time, Ben Carson was tied with Donald Trump as the GOP frontrunner, polling 26 percent apiece, according to NBC. That was way back in October. We’ve had two caucuses and two primaries since then, and Carson hasn’t even broken double-digit percentages in any of them.
Fourth in Iowa. Eighth in New Hampshire. Sixth in South Carolina. Fourth in Nevada. The polls are dismal, and Carson seems, as he has in nearly every GOP debate to date, blissfully unaware of what is going on. On Feb. 11, after pulling a measly 2.3 percent support to garner an eighth place finish in New Hampshire, The Washington Times reported on Carson’s intentions to stay in the race.
“As long as I have the support of ‘we the people,’ I will continue to go,” Carson said. At the time, he also promised an impressive showing in the then-upcoming South Carolina primary. You know, the one where he finished last. “I believe that our message is going to resonate extremely strongly here in South Carolina,” Carson said. It resonated with 7.2 percent of primary voters.
And, just to add some perspective, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who ended his campaign Feb. 20 amid dwindling support, performed better than Carson in both South Carolina and New Hampshire. Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, ancient history in the race now, beat Carson in New Hampshire by a margin of 3.5-to-1 and 2-to-1, respectively.
OK, numbers, numbers, numbers. You get it. But, why has Carson done so badly? Well, frankly, he’s unqualified for the position. His lack of political experience is both a reason not to elect him as well as a reason his campaign has been unable to gain traction. He’s just not cut out for the political arena.
The most obvious proof of this is his humiliating performance in each and every debate. A candidate with no political experience should at least exude political prowess, and Carson’s fumbling and often inaccurate answers on foreign policy and history in concert with his propensity to avoid taking a position on literally anything have generated an image of discernible ignorance.
Need an example? In the fourth GOP debate, way back in November, Carson was asked if he supported President Barack Obama’s decision to put 50 special ops forces in Syria and leave 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Carson’s response: “Well, putting special ops people in there is better than not having them there because they — that’s why they’re called special ops.”
It predictably didn’t get better from there, culminating in, after a good amount of rambling, a recommendation for another invasion of Iraq. To Carson, we destroy the Islamic State by repeating the Iraq invasion that created it.
But I’m more concerned with Carson’s behind-the-scenes performance. One of the most prominent indicators that Carson is not a seasoned politician is his inability to turn a scandal into a full-blown smear campaign. I’m talking about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz here, guys.
Quick recap: During the Iowa caucus, the higher-ups in the Cruz campaign told their precinct captains on the ground that Carson had suspended his campaign, according to CNN. The precinct captains used this information to get Carson supporters to caucus for Cruz. Cruz’s numbers were bolstered. Remember, he won the caucus.
Carson had not dropped out. Cruz cheated. That night, Carson called him out by telling reporters that Cruz’s campaign was using “dirty tricks.”
What he had here was a golden opportunity for Carson’s campaign to brand Cruz as a cheater and plant significant doubt on his honesty. Carson responded by letting Cruz off scot-free with a simple onstage apology during the subsequent GOP debate that Saturday. During his apology, Cruz lied, claiming CNN reported Carson was dropping out.
CNN never reported Carson was dropping out. It merely stated during the caucus in Iowa that Carson was heading home to get a change of clothes before moving on to New Hampshire and South Carolina, which was true.
Two missed opportunities for the Carson campaign to turn Cruz’s missteps into a campaign disaster. Carson doesn’t know how to play the game. His campaign has failed.
The presidency is not a retirement hobby, Dr. Carson. It’s time to take the hint and leave the party.