Apr 1, 2013 4 min read

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a brilliant man.

He’s the son of a single mother, and he bootstrapped his way from poverty to the pinnacle of the medical profession.

The 61 year-old father of three now heads the pediatric neurosurgery department at Johns Hopkins University: in 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor); he’s authored over 100 neurosurgical publications, as well as three bestselling books; and he has received 38 honorary doctorate degrees and national merit citations.

He’s a black conservative. So, while his medical accomplishments are world-renowned, he’s being considered worthy of a Republican presidential nomination – and apparently just because he’s an outspoken black conservative? Perhaps.

Dr. Benjamin Carson spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 7. He talked about his aversion to “political correctness,” his support for a flat tax and, more importantly, his cure for the supposedly problematic ObamaCare.

That may not have made headlines if it were not for President Obama sitting only 10 feet away. What happened next happens all too frequently when conservatives find any black person who disputes Obama. They have immediate visions of The Great Black Antidote to the Eight Obama Years, dancing in their heads.

Within a day, conservative pundits revved-up the “Carson For President” bandwagon. Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News’ Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto were beside themselves. On Feb. 8, Dr. Carson appeared on Fox News, and Hannity asked if he’d considered a possible run for the White House. Keep in mind, just hours before, Carson wasn’t on anybody’s possible presidential list, because he’d never taken his political ideology to the national media.

All it took was for him to stand near Obama, make a few statements any conservative might make, and be black – and BINGO!

Since that day, Republicans have been gushing about Dr. Carson. To them, he’s the very essence of “self-determination” and “personal responsibility,” as if they invented those things, and Democrats could never embody them. Hogwash.

First, we’ve seen this nonsense time and time again. Herman Cain was supposed to be a lure for black votes, until Republicans discovered he had a tenuous (at best) hold on the issues.

There was Michael Steele. Just 10 days after Obama was first sworn in, Steele became the first African-American to head the Republican National Committee. Many Republicans had seen Steele’s rise as a great counter to Obama. Steele lost his chairmanship two years later – after he hadn’t been able to conjure up any new black votes.

Republicans should have, by now, realized that there will never be a mass, black voter exodus from the ranks of Democrats to their own, when they pluck black conservatives from obscurity and (within hours) anoint them worthy of the presidency.

Indeed, the opposite effect might occur. Their resistance to conservative policies could harden if the faces change, but the policies are still the same. And that brings me back to Dr. Carson.

Despite the growing excitement he’s generated within the Republican Party, he’s not even a Republican. He’s a self-described “Independent” who seems to have already made a few problematic statements.

“Nobody is starving on the streets (of America),” Carson told a clap-happy audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 13. Carson’s belief is that churches are better at handling the needs of the poor than the government. “So why is the government trying to duplicate what they’re supposed to be doing?” he asked to loud applause.

This from a guy who once wrote of his childhood experiences with poverty — “We received food stamps and couldn’t have made it without them.”

Carson is a gifted neurosurgeon, but he certainly lacks an understanding about the true need for the government’s involvement in the lives of many Americans.

One program, alone, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), costs $81 billion. I doubt if there are enough charity dollars on earth that could replace it.

If Republicans rest their hopes on Carson, and Carson continues to use that kind of logic, I’d say I’m not neurosurgeon, but HE AIN’T GOT A CHANCE.

Uniontown native Edward A. Owens is a three-time Emmy Award winner and 20-year veteran of television news. Email him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net