Why the surge in poll numbers for Ben Carson?

Let me start by sincerely lauding the accomplishments of Dr. Ben Carson. Who would not admire and speak glowingly of an individual who successfully separated conjoined twins? His life story is one of overcoming difficult obstacles and achieving substantial results.

At the first Republican debate, he did exhibit great calm and decorum and was the perfect antidote to Donald Trump in terms of behavior and rhetoric. Presently, he is surging in the polls and has astronomically high “favorability” ratings among GOP voters.

{mosads}But Carson’s outrageous and sometimes downright ridiculous statements and ludicrous policy suggestions are being overlooked. For instance, he has called for drones to be armed and used to attack smugglers in caves on the Southern border. This is, I can only presume, to outdo Trump on the illegal immigration issue.

He has accused Planned Parenthood of using their sites in black neighborhoods “to control that population.” This is nothing but a cheap shot at an organization that does very necessary and essential work.

Carson got his start to national fame by going after President Obama’s healthcare law at the National Prayer Breakfast. But we have never heard what he proposes to replace it and how to insure 33 million uninsured Americans?

Carson’s greatest asset to many Republicans seems to be that he has never been elected to anything. That in itself is not, and should not be, a qualification to be president. But to many Republicans, that one distinction is enough. On foreign policy, voting suppression issues, fiscal and economic policy, his views are unknown.

Many Republicans are sensitive to the obvious fact that the GOP does not do well with African-American voters. Democrats have an overwhelming lock on that constituency. In big electoral states, Dems roll up enormous totals. Naturally, Republicans want to cut into that group, and what would be better than to show that a conservative Republican who is black is proudly wearing that label and is running for the highest office in the land.

This rationale has been in play before. Unfortunately for the Republicans, it has been tried out with Herman Cain (whose 2012 campaign was a complete farce) and Alan Keyes. The fact that Carson publicly took on Obama is considered another huge plus.

Carson can never be compared to Trump. They are polar opposites in terms of personality and style. Because of that dramatic difference, it seems that Carson is the lucky recipient of followers he would not receive if Trump were not in the contest. Having no experience in electoral politics, I repeat, should not be the determining factor in selecting a nominee for president. We do not know nearly enough about Carson to rank him as a serious contender. But that absence of definition seems to be Carson’s most attractive quality to many Republican voters.

Closer scrutiny and more focused attention will follow, now that Ben Carson is doing so well in the polls and drawing sizable crowds. Will Carson hold up so well then? He knows his trump card (sorry for the deliberate pun) is that he looks and sounds so unlike the others. Will he fade and his appeal vanish when he is at the center of the stage? I bet it will.

Plotkin is a political analyst, a contributor to the BBC on American politics and a columnist for The Georgetowner.