There is something about this man that’s gentle and genuine.
I cannot put my finger on it, but let’s just call it a hunch.
I inherited from my father an innate sense which he called a
“gut feeling.” I call it a hunch. Same thing.
And, my hunch is that Dr. Carson is the type of person I
would feel most comfortable with in the White House. Sure, he is a hard-liner
on many issues, and sees a lot of things in black and white. But I can’t fault
him there, because admittedly I do, too.
He is running his campaign less as though he wants the
office of President of the United States, and more like it is a civic duty or
responsibility.
This is in stark contrast to the obvious zeal with which
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are running their campaigns. They clearly want
the Oval Office the way a child wants a toy he or she sees on the store shelf.
Enthusiasm is not so much the word I would choose to describe their interest.
Zeal and want hit closer to the mark.
And, frankly, I get easily offended by candidates who seem
to want to be elected to office so badly.
What is it about elected office—and especially a room at the
White House—that makes some candidates become so overzealous in their
campaigns? Is it because one enjoys long hours reading and writing bills, in
complex negotiations with foreign leaders, or handling a diplomatic crisis?
I’ll wager not so much.
Rather it is the appeal of the office, its luster and attention,
its dozens of little perks that add up, and, of course, its power. Many
individuals aspiring to political office have an ego to satisfy. They want the
attention, the glamour, the power, or a combination of all of those. Histrionic
and narcissistic personalities seem to mesh well with political office;
especially that of Chief Executive, the most spectacular of all of them.
But Carson’s quiet demeanor is a refreshing change from the
“yell and sell” ways of conventional candidates.
Trump has tagged Carson as unenthusiastic. Compared to “The
Donald,” I’d say Carson definitely lacks the former’s histrionics and
narcissism. He’s a much more reserved candidate who doesn’t make his campaign
out to be some desperate power grab.
Trump, by contrast, is overly vocal, bombastic, in your
face, and is about as graceful in public speaking as a bull in a china closet.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for plain speak. But I tire
easily of political candidates who seem to do so for their gain; and not so
much for the benefit of others.
There are those concerned about Dr. Carson’s qualifications
for executive office. He’s a physician, after all, and not so much a business
man like Trump or a career politician and lawyer like Hillary and most of the
other candidates.
But one reason why Carson has attained and maintained at
least No. 2 in the GOP polls is because he is very different from the
candidates voters have gotten used to over the years. Voters have grown tired
of career politicians simply looking to move up the proverbial ladder on their
way to the top spot in representative government. They have also grown weary of
politicians who talk a good game, but do not play one. These candidates make
big promises, but fail to deliver the goods. They are long-winded, big-winded,
and talk a lot better than they walk.
There are just too many of those types of candidates in the
race yet again, and voters are fed up with having to choose between the lesser
of two evils. They want a candidate they can truly believe in, stand behind, and
feel confident about.
Very few of the 2016 presidential candidates can deliver
what the voters really want.
But my hunch is that Dr. Ben Carson will hit closer to the
mark than any of the other candidates vying for the Oval Office.
He is, in my estimation, at least an honest and decent man who
not only has built a professional reputation on doing the right thing, but he
wants America to get back to doing what’s right, too.
I cannot advise anyone else on how he or she ought to cast
their vote, but as for me at this moment, Dr. Ben Carson has mine.
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