Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American author and retired neurosurgeon. He is credited with being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. In 2008 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. After delivering a widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, he became a popular conservative figure in political media for his views on social and political issues, spurring talk of his becoming a Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Carson has written six bestselling[16] books published by Zondervan, an international Christian media and publishing company: Gifted Hands, Think Big, The Big Picture, Take the Risk, and America the Beautiful, and One Nation. The first book is an autobiography, and two are about his personal philosophies of success that incorporate hard work and a faith in God. Carson’s book titled Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story was released by Zondervan in 1992.[17] A separate television movie with the same title premiered on TNT on February 7, 2009, with Cuba Gooding Jr. in the lead role and Kimberly Elise portraying his mother.[18] On July 8, 2013, Carson joined The Washington Times as a weekly opinion columnist, and also writes for a digital magazine aimed at conservative African-Americans, called American CurrentSee. Carson was the keynote speaker at the February 7, 2013, National Prayer Breakfast.[28] During his speech, Carson commented on several social and fiscal issues including political correctness, education, the national debt, health care, and taxation. On political correctness, Carson remarked: “PC is dangerous, because you see, this country, one of the founding principles was freedom of thought and freedom of expression. And it [PC] muffles people. It puts a muzzle on them.” On education, he compared current graduation rates with those 200 years ago: “In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville came to our country ... anybody finishing the second grade was completely literate.” About healthcare: “Here’s my solution. When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account, to which money can be contributed, pretax from the time you are born, to the time you die. When you die, you can pass it on to your family members.” Carson spoke favorably of the flat tax system, which he prefers to call the Proportional Tax based on the biblical principle of the tithe.[29] The speech was magnified because Carson’s views were generally interpreted to be politically conservative, and President Barack Obama was sitting 10 feet away. Conservative commentators from Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto of Fox News praised the speech as speaking “truth to power.” The Wall Street Journal had an op-ed titled “Ben Carson for President,” which stated that Carson “may not be politically correct, but he's closer to correct than we've heard in years.” Columnist Star Parker wrote in a column that “Ben Carson owes no apology for honest talk.”[30] Fox News contributor Cal Thomas, however, opined that Carson’s remarks were inappropriate for the event and that he should apologize to President Obama.[31] Fox News pundit Bob Beckel also found Carson’s remarks inappropriate for the event, calling them “extreme right-wing talking points.” In an interview with Neil Cavuto, Carson defended himself by saying, “Somebody has to be courageous enough to stand up to the bullies.” Carson appeared on the Fox News program Hannity on Friday, February 8, and was asked about a possible run for the White House. Carson responded: “If the Lord grabbed me by the collar and made me do it, I would.” After the National Prayer Breakfast speech, Carson told ABC News: “I don't think it was particularly political.... You know, I'm a physician. I like to diagnose things. And, you know, I’ve diagnosed some pretty, pretty significant issues that I think a lot of people resonate with.” Regarding the policies of President Obama, he said: “There are a number of policies that I don’t believe lead to the growth of our nation and don't lead to the elevation of our nation. I don’t want to sit here and say all of his policies are bad. What I would like to see more often in this nation is an open and intelligent conversation, not people just casting aspersions at each other.” Writing in National Review, Jonah Goldberg compared Carson to legendary African American leader Booker T. Washington.[36] Meanwhile, in The Atlantic, David Graham compared Carson to Herman Cain without the "personal skeletons." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson

• published: 10 Dec 2014
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