Yet Another Obstacle To Hilarys Path To The White House Withers Away.

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34748996

Ben Carson has been caught out lying. Why did he do it, as it was so easy for him to be found out ?

[janbee]

Yes, as you say, it was so easy to check out his story. Silly man.

[mikey4444]

janbee...the Republicans are in almost complete disarray...again !

[Svejk]

He shouldn't be lying. That's Hillary Clinton's modus operandi. Strange how you seem to admire her so.

[wolf63]

If it had been an off the cuff statement he could, maybe, have got off with the lie. But in a book? To have gone through with writing and publishing it show he is naive as well as stupid.

I am off to get some decent sleep with my boy cat keeping me warm.

:-)

[jim360]

Mikey's analysis on this one seems to me to be entirely incorrect. In the first place, Ben Carson's "withering away" has so far seem him emerge as clear second in the race, in just a handful of weeks. He is now only behind Donald Trump, whose support seems to have plateaued. And this rise in Carson's ratings comes in spite of -- one might even say because of -- various "gaffes", eg his unfortunate response to the most recent mass school shooting. I don't think this latest one will affect him much either -- indeed, it might even help his cause among the more extremist wings as he can portray himself as a victim of media attempts at character assassination.

More importantly, though, I think it should be clear that Clinton would far rather face up to Carson or even Trump in the race for the White House than a candidate who actually comes across as serious. Her own campaign has had some rocky moments, particularly as she herself has been caught out for lying about using or not using a private email account for government business. The last thing she needs, then, is for the mess at the Republican party to sort itself out and leave her with some serious opposition. Ben Carson is not that opposition; Marco Rubio, probably, is.

So in short, this is not a "withering" of Carson, and it's not even the potential removal of an obstacle. More likely to make Hilary have to face an even bigger one.

[mikey4444]

With respect Jim, I can't agree ! He has told a lie and been caught out. He appeared to be holed below the water.

The Republicans seem unable to bring forth candidates that can win an election. Judging by the recent news, someone that could beat Hilary, Jeb Bush, has his star receding into the distance. I am still of the opinion that Trump will not be elected, even by an American electorate. You can fool some of the people, some of the time, etc, etc.

Rubio is still there and is probably the best of the bunch but I still think the Democrats will win next time around. It is now a year from November 8th 2016, and the Republicans should have got their act together by now. Instead they are still fighting amongst themselves, like cats in a sack.

[jim360]

The problem with your prediction that he'll sink because of this is that it doesn't really seem to hold up. Poll indicate that his support is still increasing and likely to match or even exceed Trump's in the near future. I don't expect that to change because of one lie in a book written about 20 years ago about an incident 25 years before that book came out.

And then there's the point that Carson's campaign strengths are that he is able to pitch himself as outside and "uncorrupted" by the US political system. That won't change either, as a result of this.

So far as I can see, this story will only further dissuade those people who were never going to vote for Carson anyway.

[mikey4444]

We shall just have to wait and see then Jim !

[Peter Pedant]

He wrote it in 1999 didnt he ?

when the prospect of the presidency was as remote as the chance of marrying Princess Di ( that is a trope meaning priddy remote )

There was correspondence in the medical press ten or twenty years ago where being invited to apply for a post ( quite OK) was taken/reported/translated as being offered the post
[ as in I was offered the professorship ... )

being invited to apply and then not getting the job even had its own word - "being shafted" - Ben C sounz as tho he is being shafted over this one

[Peter Pedant]

This could be a big deal

stateside they have a different view of things - there was one ex officer who wore the ribbon for having fought in Vietnam - the armed forces are always sticklers for this and that - when he hadnt ....

and he ended up committing suicide

years ago I advised an Oz junior not to wear a hospital tie to an interview ( barts in this case ) in case it was challenged so he came back and said just to show you I wore the Barts tie and half way thro the interview a voice came " I dont think youre entitled to wear that tie are you doctor ? "
[ he had worked at said hospital but not been to the medical school ]

ah but did he get the job ? .....

[Svejk]

[Svejk]

[Svejk]

give up, lol. It was Carson calling out the lying, lefty press. He's a very impressive chap, imo.

[jim360]

He's also a fanatical fundamentalist Christian dogmatic moron, but who cares about details?

The main thing he has going for him is that he's an outsider, rather like Trump -- and at the moment that sells in the Republican party. It won't sell to Americans as a whole, probably.

All the same, if Clinton just walks into the White House effectively unopposed I can't see how that's a good thing.

[Svejk]

They're not averse to religionists in the US, are they?

[jno]

"This week, Carson restated his belief that the pyramids were built by the biblical Joseph to store grain, and not by Egyptians to entomb their kings. He believes that Vladimir Putin, Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Abbas attended school together in Moscow in 1968. He believes that Jews with firearms might have been able to stop the Holocaust, that he personally could stop a mass shooting, that the Earth was created in six days and that Osama bin Laden enjoyed Saudi protection after 9/11."

He's a Seventh Day Adventist and opposes abortion even in rape cases.

I don't really see him being elected. His views are extreme; there are plenty of people who share them, but not nearly enough to produce a nationwide majority, I thould have thought.

If I were Hillary, I'd love to have him as an opponent.

[mikey4444]

jno...he is clearly barking mad !...surely even the Americans can see that ?

[jno]

the latest headline:

Ben Carson Defends Himself Against Allegations That He Never Attempted to Murder a Child

Yes, the headline is correct:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/ben-carson-may-have-never-stabbed-anyone.html?mid=twitter_dailyintelligencer