By Dave Weinbaum
“Nice guys finish last,” right? Or do they?
In the case of the last two presidential races that’s true, though arguably McCain isn’t that nice, thus the Clintonesque reference to “It depends on what the definition of ‘nice’ is.”
Who could argue that Dr. Carson is extremely nice. Who wouldn’t want to engage the good doctor in a conversation over a steak and some wine, or try to beat him in a game of pool as my friend and Kevin Jackson did a couple of days ago?
Dr. Carson’s story recounts the heroism of his single mother who brought him up to beat the odds. His illiterate mom forced him to read. Kid Carson liked it so much, he eventually devoured books like a ravenous wolf. He fought against his anger to become one of the nicest men you could meet.
Because of his calm demeanor, Carson’s likability ratings are the best in politics. Further, he is currently tied in the polls with The Donald in Iowa—quite a political achievement for a novice at media and campaigns.
Amenable, polite and thoughtful, Carson can be passively clever. He stood up as a relatively unknown person, and ravaged Barack Obama at a prayer breakfast, as Obama sat just a few feet away. He sliced and diced our brilliant lawyer president so badly he earned himself an audit from the Obama’s personal Gestapo, the IRS.
A few weeks ago, the good doctor made a case to Chris Wallace on his Fox Sunday news show that Obama is an anti-Semite. He said that based upon his interactions with the Jewish citizens of Israel, each person he talked to feels that President Obama has abandoned them. He said that to be against the Jewish state is anti-Semitic. I concur.
His debate performance was probably the best of the first-string wannabes—second only to The Donald. But despite Trump sucking up much of the oxygen, Carson has managed to slowly gain traction, passing many others who likely counted him out. One has to wonder if the public has tired of the Trump approach, and are looking for a more clever approach at dissecting Washington?
Given Dr. Carson’s likability, the other candidates need to take heed, or this nice guy could very well finish first.
