Ben Carson, famed neurosurgeon, running for US president

[webfact]

Ben Carson, famed neurosurgeon, running for president
By STEVE PEOPLES and BILL BARROW

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon turned conservative star, has confirmed that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Carson, who has never run for public office, is expected to be the only high-profile African-American to enter the GOP's presidential primary as he tries to parlay his success as an author and speaker into a competitive campaign against established politicians.

"I'm willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I'm announcing my candidacy for president of the United States of America," he said in an interview aired Sunday night by Ohio's WKRC television station.

He is set to make a more formal announcement during a speech from his native Detroit on Monday.

Carson earned national acclaim during 29 years leading the pediatric neurosurgery unit of Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, where he still lives. He directed the first surgery to separate twins connected at the back of the head. His career was notable enough to inspire the 2009 movie, "Gifted Hands," with actor Cuba Gooding Jr. depicting Carson.

"I see myself as a member of 'we the people,'" he told the Associated Press in an interview earlier this year, arguing that his lack of experience is an asset.

"I see myself as a logical American who has common sense," he continued, "and I think that's going to resonate with a lot of American, regardless of their political party."

The 63-year-old Detroit native remains largely unknown outside of conservative activists who have embraced him since his address at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, where he offered a withering critique of the modern welfare state and the nation's overall direction.

The speech restated themes from Carson's 2012 book "America the Beautiful," but he excited conservatives by doing so with President Barack Obama sitting just feet away.

Carson has since become a forceful critic of the nation's first black president on everything from health care to foreign policy. Carson also offers himself as a counter to other notable African-American commentators with more liberal views.

Most recently, Carson has spoken out on the unrest in the city where he lived for many years, where residents have protested and rioted in the wake of Freddie Gray dying while in custody of the Baltimore Police Department. In a Time op-ed, Carson decried the protests and related vandalism as "gross misconduct."

Carson moved to Palm Beach, Florida, after his retirement from Johns Hopkins, but he is announcing his campaign in his hometown of Detroit, where his mother raised him and his brother in poverty.

He attributes his politics to his upbringing, often describing his neighborhood culture as one where residents celebrating any new announcement of government support. Still, he acknowledges that his mother received welfare aid, and he insists that he supports "a safety net for the people who need a safety net."

Carson is a staunch social conservative, opposing abortion rights and same-sex marriage, views he attributes to his personal faith as a practicing Christian.

He has more complex views on health care and foreign policy, including statements that could put him at odds with the most conservative branches of his party.

He has compared the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature legislative achievement, to slavery. Yet Carson also has blasted for-profit insurance companies; called for stricter regulations — including of prices — of health care services; and said government should offer a nationalized insurance program for catastrophic care.

Carson pitches himself as a staunch supporter of Israel in its disputes with other Middle Eastern nations, and he has hammered Obama on his dealings in the region. But in his earlier writings, Carson criticized the U.S. for historically being too eager to wage war.
___

Barrow reported from Atlanta.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-04

[JakeSully]

He has exactly 0.00000000000000000001% of getting the nomination.

[NickJ]

Less than that even......

[Ulysses G.]

I like him as a person in many ways, but Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have a better chance of becoming president.

[Jingthing]

Maybe running for president is on his bucket list.

If being president is on his list ...

[squarethecircle]

I like him...he's honest, has good character, loves his country, and cares about humanity.

All qualities that preclude him from a successful run. I'll vote for him anyways.

[Chicog]

They're coming thick and fast now.

We need Trump though, for true comedy value.

[fred Kubasa]

I think this fellow would make a great president !

[NickJ]

He would most likley have to much empathy ......

[ggt]

He does not stand a chance against the establishment politicians...he has never learned to lie about your positions and accept money for favors the way career politicians have been doing for years...

If big money can not buy him...they will not support him...

[anon4546543]

Why would a good ex surgeon want to stoop to so low as to become a %^&% politician. No matter what country, they are all tarnished to even get support from the self serving lobbyists. Shame to see a good man enter into the crass world of lies and deception, back handers, bigotry and ... I could go on. Shame

[reptile91602]

"I see myself as a logical American who has common sense," he continued, "and I think that's going to resonate with a lot of American, regardless of their political party."

If you had any common sense you wouldn't run as a republican.!!!

[Jingthing]

This video comes off as kind of crazy. Better he should stick to being a doctor, I think, for the good of the country, and "God" and all that ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbh2zSNyjLk

Edited May 4, 2015 by Jingthing

[canuckamuck]

Heaven forbid that Americans would ever consider someone not bought and paid for.

That would be so crazy.

USA likes puppets so much they try to install them all over the world.

[Pinot]

Ben Carson is a lot like the the other black Republican Clarence Thomas (they're the only two). Every morning when they get out of bed and look in the mirror, they're disgusted by what they see.

Plenty of room for Dr. Ben in the Republican clown car. He will have to sit in the back.

[Credo]

Ben Carson is a lot like the the other black Republican Clarence Thomas (they're the only two). Every morning when they get out of bed and look in the mirror, they're disgusted by what they see.

Plenty of room for Dr. Ben in the Republican clown car. He will have to sit in the back.

Not only the back of the car. He's Republican, he'll be in the back of the bus as well.

[Humberstone]

There is quite a lot to admire about Dr. Carson. However, for a man of science he is also on the record as being an ardent Creationist which I guess is not much of a surprise for a Seventh Day Adventist.

[jdinasia]

Yet one more in the GOP clown car!

[hhowy]

I also am throwing in my hat ....

[brewsterbudgen]

The more right-wing loons the better! I see Huckabee has also entered the fray.

Maybe the Donald soon

Edited May 6, 2015 by brewsterbudgen

[Chicog]

Carly Fiorina has entered, amazingly just as her new book is published....

[thaibeachlovers]

He is educated, has common sense and does a job that helps people.

He has zero chance of being president. However, Huckabee has less chance than him, so he's not last.

[thaibeachlovers]

The more right-wing loons the better! I see Huckabee has also entered the fray.

Maybe the Donald soon

I hope he does enter. We really need the comedy.

[thaibeachlovers]

Carly Fiorina has entered, amazingly just as her new book is published....

I saw her on Fox. She thinks that because she can run HP she can run the US. Goes to show that some of those business people have little or no common sense. Her ego must be the size of Everest.

[Chicog]

Carly Fiorina has entered, amazingly just as her new book is published....

I saw her on Fox. She thinks that because she can run HP she can run the US. Goes to show that some of those business people have little or no common sense. Her ego must be the size of Everest.

She couldn't run HP. She got fired.

[Jingthing]

Fiorina's resume doesn't add up as future president, but within the field she's running in, she's in the less crazy side of it.

[uptheos]

How many weeks til the election?

[Chicog]

Fiorina's resume doesn't add up as future president, but within the field she's running in, she's in the less crazy side of it.

Nah, she's pushing her book.

Got loads of free press the other day, Megyn Kelly was kissing her ar$e big time.

[Publicus]

I think this fellow would make a great president !

His foreign policy is to visit Detroit.

His economic policy is to be in the 1% which he says he is.

He's a commentator on Fox which means he talks to a lot of old people.

Given he's a surgeon he should offer to give the Republican party a brain and a heart. But he won't.

Carson blames measles on immigrants

Carson said he wasn't trying to speak in code when he was asked by CNN host Chris Cuomo if he was turning the measles debate into an immigration debate.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/carson-blames-measles-on-immigrants/ar-AA8YIi9

[Ulysses G.]

Carson blames measles on immigrants

Is this all you've got? He said that illegal immigrants are partly to blame for the measles outbreak.

I’m stating what the facts are," he replied. "The facts are that there are people in our country who have become lax in terms of their vigilance, getting their kids immunized, and we have people coming in who are not necessarily being properly screened. That’s not making it an issue, it’s stating facts."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/carson-blames-measles-on-immigrants/ar-AA8YIi9