Ben Carson, Reconsidered

Generally speaking, The Weekly Standard is from the Edith Piaf school of second thoughts. We don't have many. And when we do, we keep quiet about them. As the great chanteuse put it: Non, je ne regrette rien.

But on rare occasions we admit we may—just may—have a few regrets. Here's one: We're now inclined to think we overstated matters when we began an editorial six weeks ago by asking rhetorically, "How big a problem is it that the two leading Republican candidates for president aren't actually qualified to be president?"

We hasten to assert that we in no way regret offering this judgment about Donald Trump. We wrote that Trump is "a self-regarding blowhard who's not much of a conservative to boot, who is not now and will never be qualified to be president." We stand by that verdict.

But we also worried that Carson is "not yet prepared to be president," and we averred, "he'd have to show an awful lot of growth to be ready a year from now." What's more, for Carson to win the general election, "voters would have to conclude that he is so extraordinary a figure that for the first time in American history, they would send a man to the White House who had neither held elective office nor served as a general officer or cabinet officer."

We're less certain now than we were in September that voters couldn't come to such a conclusion. We're less certain we couldn't.

Consider Ben Carson's campaign, which suggests organizational and communications skills that would be welcome in the Oval Office. Consider his positions on the issues of the day, which, while not as well-developed as they will have to become, seem basically consistent with a reformist, constitutionalist, American-exceptionalist governing conservatism.

And consider his response to the reasonable objection that one would prefer someone with governing experience. His recent Facebook post answering this objection deserves to be quoted at length:

I would like to deal with one question tonight in some detail. The issue is experience. Several people ask what they should tell their friends when people say "I like Carson but he has no political experience."

You are absolutely right—I have no political experience. The current Members of Congress have a combined 8,700 years of political experience. Are we sure political experience is what we need? ... No one in Philadelphia, during that summer our nation was born, dreamed that service was a career with a pension. America was the land of the Citizen Statesmen. They were merchants, lawyers, farmers—and yes, even doctors. They were willing to stand for freedom. Today, the political class stands in the way, not for the people. They demand pensions and perks. This is not what our Founders envisioned for America. I spent my life treating very ill children. Over 15,000 times I gave my all to prolong their lives. I was blessed to do it. But when it came time for me to retire, I simply could not sit back any longer. These children became my family. What our government is doing to them is outrageous. I am prepared to risk all that I have to try and make a difference in their future. ...

My experience is very different than what we have come to expect. I grew up poor. I know what it is like to be homeless and hungry. I know the pain of poverty. I also know that education and a mother's love can be the path out of dire poverty. I know what it is like to see water fountains you are not allowed to drink out of because of your skin color. I also know that once you peel back the skin, the brain is the same no matter what your skin color or continent you live on. I know that victimhood is a trap. I know that it is our Christian responsibility to offer those less fortunate a hand up. I know my faith is strong and my ego is small. ...

I do not have political experience, I have a life journey. A journey that not only made it possible for me to relate to so many different people, but also one where time and time again I was told I would fail, only to succeed. My candidacy is different, that I grant you. I have neither Donald Trump's money or Jeb Bush's political network. However, I wouldn't trade a single child I treated for all of Trump's money. While I admire the Bush family's dedication to service, I too served—nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays and anniversaries with severely injured patients were my public service.

I didn't go to embassy cocktail parties or beg lobbyists for money. I spent night after night in a quiet, sterile room trying to save the life of a small child. That was my life's service. This is my life's experience. What I have is a lifetime of caring, integrity and honesty. I have experienced the American Dream. Nowhere in the world, other than America, could a man whose ancestors were slaves rise to become a leading brain surgeon and one day seek the Office of President.

The very fact that I am running is testament to the greatness of America. If all you want is political experience then I cannot be your candidate.

Granted, it's just a Facebook post. But it does suggest qualities of mind and soul that have been sorely missing in recent American public life.

This doesn't mean Ben Carson should be the Republican nominee or the next president. Most of us at The Weekly Standard, if we had to vote tomorrow, would probably check the box next to the name of someone other than Carson, someone more conventionally qualified for the job.

But there is something heartening about the fact that so many Republican primary voters have rallied to Carson—so many in fact that he's now the Republican frontrunner. James Webb, another impressive American, found no support and little sympathy in the Democratic party. That Republicans respect Carson, wish him well, and even would like to support him is a sign of the general health of the GOP.

So while Carson probably won't and likely shouldn't be the nominee, the Republican party is better for his candidacy. And if the unthinkable happens and Donald Trump wins the Republican nomination, we may take off a few days next year to gather ballot access signatures for the 2016 independent ticket of Carson-Webb, or Webb-Carson.

Comment by clicking here.

William Kristol is editor of The Weekly Standard, which, together with Fred Barnes and John Podhoretz, he founded in 1995. Kristol regularly appears on Fox News Sunday and on the Fox News Channel.