I want to like Dr. Carson. I really do. He has such a compelling personal story along the lines of Horatio Alger. The problem I have is Dr. Carson's repeated stumbling and bumbling through self inflicted political wounds. What amazes me to date is that Dr. Carson has managed to take these unforced errors and somehow turned them, like lemons, into lemonade.
I've already discounted the amateurish Politico hit piece that seems to have been done by either a moron or someone suffering a mental breakdown. I mean, essentially Politico was saying that Dr. Carson was really a good kid and never had any untoward social or emotional outbursts as claimed by Dr. Carson. Did the Politico hit piece writer understand that he was actually elevating Dr. Carson to a larger than life figure, while Dr. Carson was admitting to an imperfect childhood as a poor youth in inner city Detroit? Again, this utter fabrication by Politico carries no weight in my thinking in evaluating Dr. Carson as a presidential candidate
What concerns me about Dr. Carson's latest unforced error is in regard to his statements in support of Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state. I simply don't recall this being a compelling issue to 99.9% of Americans, although the other 0.1% may have a vested interest due to their Puerto Rican ancestry, which might be understandable.
Unless historical polling on Puerto Rican statehood has changed recently, one third of Puerto Ricans want Puerto Rico to maintain its commonwealth status, while another third of Puerto Ricans want complete independence as a sovereign nation state and the final third would like to see statehood. In 50 years and four non-binding referendums, the proponents of statehood have never managed a majority vote for statehood. I am wondering why Dr. Carson has decided to make Puerto Rico an election year issue. Is he merely following in the footsteps of Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, and if so, why? Aren't there enough political and economic issues to address in this very unusual presidential election season?
As a small aside and lest anyone forget, Puerto Rico is a bastion of liberal progressivism. It's in a state of fiscal chaos and looming financial disaster due to liberal progressive politicians running Puerto Rico like a Banana Republic of some sort. Does the United States really need another liberal led state needing billions in federal support to prop it up? I'm thinking not, but that's just me.
And what's up with Dr. Carson now coming out in support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, a trade pact so highly touted and supported by President Obama? I am not at all completely conversant with all the elements of the TPP, but I am always very apprehensive about such agreements that are "comprehensive", since so much can be hidden in all the details. Of course I become really apprehensive about any supposed economic plan that Obama supports, since I believe Obama's understanding of economics is less than a sixth grader running a lemonade stand.
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