The Washington Post has a lengthy interview with Ben Carson in which two reporters try repeatedly to glean anything substantive about the neurosurgeon's path forward on the campaign trail. Good luck with that. Here's the most telling part of the Carson interview conducted by reporters Steven Ginsberg and Robert Costa.
Ginsberg: Do you regret not making the shift to talking about foreign policy sooner?
Carson: You know, it is what it is. [He pauses, then breaks into a chuckle.]
Carson has fallen dramatically in the polls ever since Paris and San Bernardino became the nation's focal point and he failed the foreign policy test of naming a single country that could join the U.S. in defeating ISIS during a nationally televised interview.
But Carson's got a long list of reasons why he's taken a hit in the polls and none of them have to do with him. People don't care about "the truth," he says.
“It’s just what’s sensational, what’s the shiny object. It’s all ‘Who’s in the football game? Who’s on Dancing With the Stars? Who’s yelling the loudest?’ ... rather than being a little more cerebral.”
In other words, they care about Donald Trump. Also, it turns out the process sucks.
“Obviously, going through a process like this is pretty brutal.”
Yep, Ben, you're running for president. Also, people just don't get him ... and that's their problem.
“In terms of missteps, I think that people simply can’t sometimes understand what I’m talking about.”
Now you’re on to something, Ben!
The reporters tried to nail Carson down on a campaign shakeup, which he committed to doing sometime before the Iowa caucus in February. But hours after that was reported, his campaign said it was all some big misunderstanding. Here's his campaign manager, Barry Bennett.
“We had our standard 3:30 p.m. call and I asked him about the story. He said he has 100 percent faith in the team,” Bennett told The Post on Wednesday. “Dr. Carson was talking about the campaign and the mechanics, not the people.”
Earth to Ben: please get back to us lowly earthlings when you have a moment to explain how you'll govern the U.S. from your alternate universe. Thanks.