One would have to be really focused and hard to rattle in order to become a neurosurgeon. Its a good quality, but election to presidency here has become a popularity contest where showing strength gets points. Maybe now that Carson is getting a bit more outgoing, he can overcome this issue. Except for a bit of religious zealotry, I like him and think he would make a good president. Rand Paul was a bit quiet and not willing to engage. This will hurt him. I agree with you that his responses to people not agreeing with him werent great- and he would encounter a LOT of people who wont agree with him.
On the other hand, Trump is more of a deal maker and would get consensus on more sensible items for the country, like foreign trade and treating the country as a business. We need some of that after the debacle of Obama.

do you really think that being muslim includes the idea of living life deliberately and doing your own thing.... If you really believe in islam, how is that compatible with the American ideas ? Thats my point. You actually pointed that out with your comparison with saudi arabia

circuit guy... I am not a practicing follower of any superstition/religion, but I do like the Christian concept of "A man can not serve 2 masters". The Muslim pledge to jihad and slaughter of "infidels" would make allegiance to our Constitution a sham. The non murdering presidents we get are bad enough, let alone one who would swear to kill his enemies because of their belief. That is not racism on my part...just self preservation. No religious test would be necessary if the leaders were to swear their oaths on our Constitution instead of the Bible, OR the Koran or any other manual of superstition.

"Your second paragraph reads like there are people saying we might want to elect a president ..."

Uh, there are. Muslims. They did it in Palestine and Egypt. It already exists in Iran. Iraq looks to fall to it, as does Syria (and Lebanon). They are very close to overthrowing several other Middle Eastern nations and installing caliphates in Jordan, Qatar, UAE, and others and the Saudis are very concerned. They hate the "Great Satan" of America and would love to see us fall - especially by our own hand. And you may not believe this, but many European nations such as Germany, England, the Netherlands, and France are also having Muslim crises.

The question as posed by the press was a gotcha question, but does have some validity in lieu of the recent decisions by some States here to ban Sharia courts (and all other extra-Constitutional authorities) and the recent troubles in England being derived by Sharia courts. It's a legitimate concern to all who reject non-Constitutional jurisdiction - whether that arise from Sharia courts or the UN.

Look at all Barack Obama has done and consider it with respect to furthering Islam. NASA's primary mission being changed to Muslim outreach. The Bowe Berghdahl trade. Obama's proposed changes to the military which decrease its effectiveness. Arming al Queda sympathizers to overthrow Assad in Syria. Supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Declining to support the student uprising in Iran. His refusal to use the words "radical Islam". Declining to support the Christians in traditionally Muslim nations now being slaughtered by Muslims. And now this nuclear deal with Iran.

If you aren't very concerned with the way this President kowtows to Islam - despite his self-proclamation he is a Christian - you should be. Islam was the primary threat to us as a new nation via the Barbary pirates. It has consistently threatened much of the world since its inception about 800 AD. It is the second-largest theology behind only Christianity. And its theology supports more than 95% of the worlds terrorist organizations. To have a President of the US who isn't willing to recognize and name the enemies of our nation is bad. To have one that sympathizes with them will bring about the complete downfall of the Constitution.

The Muslim president would either swear his oath of office on the Koran, or on a Christian Bible. The latter is more acceptable to most Americans, and thus more likely. Lying to support Allah is not a sin or a crime in Islam, as far as I have been able to ascertain. Look up taqiya.

I'm not saying this false swearing has already happened, but some people think it has.

Guess it would make me a hypocrite but I would get a huge kick out of telling some libtard the following--
"What, you don't like Ben Carson? That makes you a racist. So if you don't want to be called a racist, you had better shut up and sit down. No, Obama is not the first black president. Ask Bill Clinton. Besides, Obama is half white, Carson is completely black. If you cannot agree with a completely black black man, that makes you a racist. Your Jimmy Carter once said as much, you bigot for a racist you. So shut up and sit down. Or I'll call you more names. Like Jim Crow or something even more shameful."

term two.. Fans of Mrs. William Clinton....

While I deplore his Middle Ages religious affinities, I will fight for his right to speak them. I would argue with him about them, but never censor him. It is his right as an American to express his beliefs -- and that's a good thing, also because it will show me that while I was briefly tempted, I would never vote for him.

term2 I agree with you about Rand Paul but I was surprised at his prissy, excited responses in the first debate... he seemed surprised that someone would disagree. I honestly do not remember the point or the opponent, but the response and anger he showed was not mature. I had previously donated a few bucks to his campaign and I had to stop and question his maturity in the face of an answer he disliked. Time will tell. Carson is hard to rattle.

"that a Muslim president of America would not be acceptable because Islam is NOT compatible with our constitution"
If there were a serious Muslim candidate running, maybe you would call for a law creating a religious test for public office to defend the Constitution.

Just because he is a doctor doesn't give him any special knowledge of medicine. My associates degree in construction makes me just as expert as he is. Right????

circuit guy,,, I don't need Dr. Carson to tell me that a Muslim president of America would not be acceptable because Islam is NOT compatible with our constitution... The news of ISIS tells me all that I need to make my own decision and the deafening silence of the Muslim leaders. Even our own emperor will not call them out and goes out of his way to justify their actions based on 900 year old atrocities. As far as oaths of offices in America go, no official should swear his oath on any religious superstition manual but only on the Constitution. NO exceptions for any religion. That is most definitely NOT racism but self preservation. If you want to unconditionally love and forgive anyone, that is your right but don't extend it to others that have not been indoctrinated with Muslim propaganda.

He later said he didn't want an extremist from any background to be president. I say that's obvious and he could have avoiding looking like a bigot by saying that obvious fact instead of singling out one group.

Your second paragraph reads like there are people saying we might want to elect a president who supports adopting medieval institutions literally from the Dark Ages that they still practice in the backward areas of the modern world. That doesn't make any sense. No one's saying that. That's standing up to a straw man.

"We have a specific American culture, and muslims have a different specific muslim culture. "
Unlike other countries that have a historic national race and religion, America is based on an idea, an idea of living life deliberately and doing your own thing without having to follow the traditions of your origins unless you want to.

This idea of America is the exact opposite of what you are describing-- where in Saudi Arabia citizens must to follow Saudi traditions and national religion and if they become American citizens they must adopt America's traditions and national religion. They specifically designed the country not to have a national religion or gov't-enforced culture.

"They all know that the police never show up until after the shootings are over. "
This basic fact was true when they wrote the Constitution and probably influenced them (among other reasons) to guarantee people the bear arms. .

I like Carson's position on guns. When caught by surprise, as I was when two armed men invaded my house and I thought my wife and I were about to murdered, having guns did not help us. We could not get to the weapons while a Baretta M9 was litterally pressed against my temple. As CircitGuy says, you realling don't know what you would do if caught off guard.

Everyone has few “pet” issues and no candidate is going to live up to what any of us want in a leader. Carson, a 7th Day Adventist and Creationist, is a long way from an Objectivist. So long as he has more points to agree with than, say, Hillary, I would not write him off because he and I do not agree on my pet issues. My poiunt is, I don't think we should pick candidates based upon a few pet issues, but on a broader basis. As it stands, Rand Paul is still my preferred choice.

Actually in Wisconsin the sentence "we need AA because people hire from within their own network" could make sense in. :)
I also think of Eddie Murphy in Distinguished Gentleman where the guy says he needs an admin assistant (AA).

For me, its Rand Paul first, then probably Carson or Trump (whoever gets it to the actual election). If one of the religious zealots gets to be republican nominee, I might just vote for Sanders to keep Hillary out- the idea being "lets get this socialist ride OVER quickly so we can begin rebuilding"

I think political correctness is a bad thing. I have to hand it to Trump for making anti political correctness more popular though. Carson has been pretty low key and low energy when he started his candidacy. I'm glad he is being more forceful now. Who wants a president to feeds you pablum.

Regarding the Muslim president comment, if you didn't listen to the entire statement, I'd suggest you do so before labeling Carson a bigot. What he said was that he viewed Sharia as 100% incompatible with the US Constitution. As Sharia is a pretty integral part of the Islamic faith, he viewed a Muslim President as antithetical to the first responsibility of a President of the United States: to uphold the Constitution. He clarified later to emphasize this point: that any Muslim running for office would have to openly denounce Sharia before that person would be eligible for his vote in any way.

I happen to agree with Carson 100%. I spent time in Greece and Cyprus and met with many people who were trying to escape the barbarity of Islam dominated by Sharia: a culture of vigilante justice wholly skewed to demean and degrade women and with zero-tolerance policies that make the stuff here in the US just look ridiculous in comparison. I can't vote for or support any Muslim running for office until that person has vowed that the Constitution - and not Sharia - is the prime law here in the United States.

Carson lost my vote several months ago when he came out in favor of mandatory vaccinations:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/politic...

Fivedollargold heard Carson speak prior to getting in the race. If anything, Trump is following Carson's lead.

Glad to see some support for Carson. I live in a very Blue town and see lots of Bernie bumper stickers. I have a Carson bumper sticker on my car just to piss them off. Carson is an interesting study and kudos to him for not backing down on any of his statements or positions. The man has a spine.

Now that we are saying what we think, I agree with Carson's comment about not wanting a muslim president. We have a specific American culture, and muslims have a different specific muslim culture. Why would we want the leader of our country to be from a culture that is so different from ours. Immigration is OK so long as they want to join OUR culture, not just bring theirs in in competition with ours. So there, thats my thought on the subject.

As to the standing up to a killer remark, I think that would not be a very effective action to take. I think if more people were armed, a killer would be less likely to get away with mass shootings, as he would know he would be killed right there. They all know that the police never show up until after the shootings are over. If people in the crowd were armed, its more likely that one of them would simply shoot the shooter and kill him right there. If I had a concealed gun, I would just shoot the perp instead of standing there like Carson suggested.

Plenty if you're a bar owner/manager. ;)