I was thinking about that a great deal yesterday. Carson's candidacy was remarkable, in that his personal ambition was probably the least of it. I have had the privilege of meeting him years ago, and a family member stays in touch with his family over nearly 20 years. I can say he is truthfully a very devout man who takes decisions prayerfully. After he gave the National Prayer Breakfast speech in which he scolded Obama, he was pushed upward as a potential candidate by people wanting a conservative and/or an African-American as a foil for the Democrat stranglehold on people of color. Donors and handlers arrived and Dr. Carson took the process one step at a time, experiencing in my opinion surprise at how far it went. I do see him as a humble man, and I think he lives in the present with the Holy Spirit. He went as far as his donations and support would reasonably take him, and eventually made the decision not to continue. But his heartfelt desire to help this nation remains. It is not a recent interest; Ben Carson and his wife have been giving back to young people for many years. That's him and his wife Candy in the upper left in this photo of children they have helped through the Carson Scholars Fund, their charity. (Take a look around the site.)
As far as Trump's ugly attacks on Carson, I was greatly disappointed in Trump's crudeness; on the other hand, I'm forced to recognize that Trump deploys strategic tactics to demonstrate what forcefulness he would bring with America's aggressive enemies. The drubbing he gave Carson was mild compared to what Carson would have faced as President or even as the GOP nominee — look what the left is throwing at Trump. Carson, being a conservative, would not enjoy the PC skin privilege that insulated Obama during his campaign. Trump has played or sponsored sports competitions all his life. He has knocked out his rivals one by one, by looking for vulnerabilities and taking a few punches.
In Carson's endorsement press conference with Trump, I was moved and heartened by the reasons Trump revealed for the reconciliation between him and Carson. In so many words, Trump said that when he took some shots at Carson, Carson stood up to it and handled being knocked down in the polls with grace; Carson earned Trump's respect, impressing Trump with an unshakeable self-confidence and grit.
Trump apparently recognized that Carson is not an "empty suit" who leads with ambition or is the product of a political machine, but a man whose deep personal convictions make him a fighter for the right. He recognized Carson's interest and talent as an educator and the value of his character to our country.
When we contrast Carson's dignified response with that of Rubio, who quickly revealed he would be in over his head with someone like Putin, or with Cruz, whose ambition is outstripping his ethics at the moment (I hope he recovers eventually, but his constitutional sell-out to the left's rioting has turned me off), or Kasich's doubling down on liberal positions and appeasement on trade, immigration and gay marriage, Carson's essential decency and character were proved true. If Trump wins, we will get the best of both of them.
I think what happened when Trump examined politics and began to think about entering the race is that he looked at “how it was done.” What he saw was that there are no rules. All these people calling for “civility?” That’s garbage, which usually translates into “my candidate is losing.” Trump got that.
He was a little more open and blunt than someone like Minion or Cankles, who cleverly have surrogates leak stuff that they can comment on. Trump just goes straight ahead: “his behavior is pathalogical,” “he’s low energy,” “She should be in jail.” Although people often say “I can’t believe he said that,” down deep they are saying, “Finally, someone who says things plainly that all the rest of us think but are afraid to say.”
Carson was NEVER dirty enough or clever enough (in a scheming sort of way) for politics. He has a good heart. That is not to say Trump doesn’t, but to Trump results come first. If Carson had to temporarily inflict pain on a baby to save its life, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second. I think that’s Trump’s view of the campaign. The stakes here are the life of the USA, period. People’s feelings, civility, all the rest needs to take a back seat to saving this country. We are indeed in the land of the Walking Dead.
Carson is a great doctor. But he admitted to trying to knife/bludgeon people. Someone like that should be praised for his later development as a doctor and Christian but I don’t see how such a man can be president. Trump was a little crude in how he voiced this concern (I am the first to admit he gets like that) but it maybe how such a message gets through in modern TV/internet age.
Well said....
...I too was touched by this vulerable & completely honest side of Trump when he admitted Carson’s grace under ( Trump’s) fire impressed him....
.......I want Trump to be Trump
I love him just the way he is....
....but I also pray the Holy Spirit to continue to mold and shape him!!!
And I believe this will happen!!,
As far as Trump’s ugly attacks on Carson, I was greatly disappointed in Trump’s crudeness.
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I think we all were disappointed. From what Donald Trump said his wife and daughter came down hard on him over it, and he seems to have listened and learned from the incident. Maybe he spend a couple of hours in the bathroom with his Bible. ;-)
What a wonderful tribute to both Carson and Trump. Thank you, Albion Wilde.