Inspirational man, but a long-shot run

Published 8:51 pm Thursday, November 13, 2014

Many readers will be disappointed that Dr. Ben Carson’s regular column, which has run on Fridays in the Tyler Paper, isn’t on this page. That’s because last weekend, Carson debuted a biographical video in numerous markets, as a precursor to a presidential run.

Fox News made the same decision. It’s not right to give a candidate a weekly platform that isn’t offered to his opponents.

It’s a shame, though. The real question is why Carson — an acclaimed pediatric neurosurgeon, writer and commentator — would want to run for president. While we certainly salute those who offer themselves for public service, it seems to us that a quixotic campaign for president would be a step down.

Ben Carson’s personal story is so incredible and so inspiring that it will be a real disappointment to see him pigeonholed into the role of a presidential also-ran. Because no matter how well Carson polls, history is clear. The presidency isn’t an office that Americans entrust to political newcomers.

Sure, there’s an appeal in a non-politician. But the veteran journalist Chris Wallace pointed out on Fox recently that such candidates simply lack qualifications.

“We think, ‘Well, you don’t really need a professional politician to run the country,'” Wallace said over the weekend. “To me, it would be like saying we don’t need a professional manager to run General Motors or something.”

The history of non-politicians who run for president isn’t pretty. It ranges from Ross Perot, whose 1992 candidacy was punctuated with conspiracy theories, to Herman Cain, whose campaign was grandiosely incompetent (apparently none of his political advisors warned him that Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert isn’t an actual conservative, for example).

“Running for office requires particular skills, and success in other fields does not necessarily carry over to the campaign trail,” writes Jack Pitney in the Christian Science Monitor. “Consider retired Gen. Wesley Clark. On paper, he was a dream candidate: West Point valedictorian, Rhodes Scholar, combat veteran of Vietnam with a Silver Star, White House Fellow, commander in chief of the US European Command. But after he announced his candidacy for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, he bobbled questions that an experienced politician could easily have anticipated. Would he have voted for the Iraq War? ‘I don’t know if I would have or not,’ he said… He got a little better over time, but never quite got the hang of presidential politics, and his campaign fizzled.”

Dr. Ben Carson has a similarly impressive resume — and a unique opportunity to influence and inspire generations of our young people, particularly those born into poverty.

As Carson says himself, “Our children need to see and hear about more black role models in many fields so they can make better choices.”

When Carson came to Tyler back in July, he showed true wisdom.

“The greatest challenge America faces is believing we are each other’s enemies,” he said. “We are one nation. The real enemies are those that seek to divide us.”

So why would this inspirational man seek to embroil himself in that divisiveness?