I feel bad for the reporters and pundits who just got used to the idea that Donald Trump could win the Republican nomination. Over the last few days, a great many articles have appeared announcing with certainty that Trump was looking more and more like the nominee of the Republicans. After all, no matter what the media threw at him (and it was a lot), he continued to lead in all the polls. Then today we get a new Quinnipiac poll of likely GOP caucus goers in Iowa, and Trump is now in second place behind Carson by a margin of 28% to 20%. Now, all those self proclaimed geniuses who told us that Trump was securely ahead have to write columns telling us how they knew all along the Trump was folding. It will still be BS, but the avalanche of columns is surely coming.
The truth in all this is that Carson has displayed some really important things:
1) Being a nice guy does pay dividends in politics, especially with a GOP audience. Carson has not taken shots at any of the other candidates. Many people like that.
2) Staying calm and rational even in the face of the media attack also helps with the voters. Consider the outpouring of anger from the media and the left when Carson said that if he were in a position like the students in the Oregon community college, he would rush the shooter to try to stop him. How many media gurus or liberal pundits told us that Carson had insulted the poor victims in Oregon? Answer: all of them. How many actual voters cared what the guru/liberal people said? Answer: Essentially none.
3) There remains a major benefit to being unquestionably smart. All America knows that Carson is a brilliant man. His accomplishments as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins tell us that. As a result, the ongoing attempt by the media/leftist class to portray Carson as an idiot gets no traction. Just like the attacks on Trump got nowhere because people already had a clear picture of him, the attacks on Carson's intelligence just won't fly.
I don't support either Trump or Carson in the current battle for the GOP nomination. I do know, however, one basic truth that needs to be kept in mind by the media/leftist class: the decision who to nominate is up to GOP voters and not the media. It is going to stay that way.
The truth in all this is that Carson has displayed some really important things:
1) Being a nice guy does pay dividends in politics, especially with a GOP audience. Carson has not taken shots at any of the other candidates. Many people like that.
2) Staying calm and rational even in the face of the media attack also helps with the voters. Consider the outpouring of anger from the media and the left when Carson said that if he were in a position like the students in the Oregon community college, he would rush the shooter to try to stop him. How many media gurus or liberal pundits told us that Carson had insulted the poor victims in Oregon? Answer: all of them. How many actual voters cared what the guru/liberal people said? Answer: Essentially none.
3) There remains a major benefit to being unquestionably smart. All America knows that Carson is a brilliant man. His accomplishments as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins tell us that. As a result, the ongoing attempt by the media/leftist class to portray Carson as an idiot gets no traction. Just like the attacks on Trump got nowhere because people already had a clear picture of him, the attacks on Carson's intelligence just won't fly.
I don't support either Trump or Carson in the current battle for the GOP nomination. I do know, however, one basic truth that needs to be kept in mind by the media/leftist class: the decision who to nominate is up to GOP voters and not the media. It is going to stay that way.
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