Is Ben Carson a fraud? Is his “truth and honesty” campaign a sham?
Dr. Ben Carson would have us elect him as our next president. He says that he is worthy of our vote because he, more than any other candidate, possesses the characteristics necessary to lead the nation: honesty, strength of character and a calm and thoughtful demeanor. Carson’s campaign is all about his inner self. What makes Ben, Ben?
As Carson travels the country in search of the Republican nomination he has offered brief glimpses into his past so that we might better understand the journey that has led him to be all that he is today.
He told us of his troubled youth and violent tendencies. He spoke of going after his mother with a hammer, smashing another youth in the face with a lock, throwing rocks with the intent of causing harm and trying to stab a friend named Bob only to have the blade deflected by a metal belt buckle.
He spoke of his heroism; of how while in high school, in the immediate aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination, he protected his white classmates from an angry riotous mob.
He spoke of his honesty; telling a story of how he was acknowledged by his Yale professor as the most honest student in his class.
He spoke of his intellect: of how he was offered a scholarship to West Point during a dinner with then Army Chief of Staff General William Westmorland.
And he gave us an example of his cool and calm demeanor under pressure; of the time he was waiting in line at a fast food restaurant when an armed robber stuck a gun in his ribs. Carson said he calmly told the gunman: “I think you want the guy on the other side of the counter.”
Ben Carson tells us that this is his story. This is the path taken as he rose from a life of poverty to become one of the foremost pediatric neurosurgeons in the world. This is the journey that Carson has parlayed into notoriety as a bestselling author and frontrunner status for the Republican nomination.
Unfortunately for Dr. Carson the media doesn’t accept that something is true just because you say it is so. Particularly when that person is seeking the most powerful office in the world and using those “truths” as bona fides for election.
The national media vetted Dr. Carson. As of this writing they have not found one person to corroborate that any of these stories are true.
Dr. Carson reacted to those questioning his veracity with frustration, anger, retaliation and obfuscation. He recently told a gaggle of reporters that no political candidate has ever been subjected to the undue level scrutiny waged against him. He called many of the media reports “Lies, intended to distract the public…because they see me as a threat.”
Undue scrutiny? Dr. Carson might want to google “Hillary Clinton” and check out the media scrutiny that she has faced throughout her decades of public service. Or “Barak Obama” and the media frenzy that followed him throughout his candidacy and during his term as our nation’s first black president.
Dr. Carson set the campaign narrative. He made it all about his strength of character. He had to because by all accounts he knows very little about policy.
Perhaps in time Dr. Carson’s accounts of the incidents will be proven accurate. Regardless, as a learned man he would do well to remember these truths:
When accused of wrong doing attacking the questioner is the first sign of guilt.
And…
Never get into a war of words with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
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