A liberal friend of mine who has been an informed follower of the Republican Presidential primary recently asked, “Do you think Ben will be more aggressive and go after the Donald in the next debate on CNN?”  My response, “No. Not if he is as shrewd as he appears to be.”

That friend was referring of course to Dr. Benjamin Carson, who is stunning the Republican presidential polls with his strong performance thus far.  According to CNN, Dr. Carson is second only to real estate mogul Donald Trump in the national polls while his spending on advertising is proportionally lower.  However, if the matchup were just between Carson and Trump for the presidential nomination, Carson dominates Trump among Republicans 55% to 36%.

There are several reasons Dr. Carson is doing so well in the polls and is a top contender to be the nominee, none of which have to do with screaming the loudest or satiating the public with sharp tongued, yet sometimes humorous responses.

The reason Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls right now is because people are vicariously venting their anger and frustration through him.  Every time he releases an unapologetic politically incorrect tirade, people who don’t have a voice feel a release of pent up anger.  Trump is vehemently expressing what they’ve wanted to on many occasions, but haven’t had a public mouthpiece in their corner, until now.  Trump has willingly become the mouthpiece of a segment of our fed up population.  For people who like extreme candor, it admittedly has been a little entertaining.

However, anger is temporary state, and most people after venting, cool off and become more thoughtful in how they communicate and want real solutions to the issues they are angry about. Enter Carson.

During the Fox News presidential debate, many felt that Dr. Carson didn’t stand out and that he wasn’t aggressive enough.  But he stood out for this very reason.  While other contenders attempted to emulate Trump’s true passion and aggression, Dr. Carson stood by his Biblical principles.  The Bible in James 1:19 states, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  Unfortunately, America has become a society that constantly ups the ante on shock value and no holds barred speech.  They often times look for it and are discontent with a soft spoken, well thought out answer.

However, it appears the public is slowly waking up and realizing the emptiness of such vacuous and mendacious speech.  The voters now see what happens when they put charismatic leaders with no backbone or wisdom in office, on both sides of the aisle.  They have witnessed firsthand that humorous one liners and a witty quips on popular talk shows don’t solve the multitude of ills America now faces.

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin only had a grade school education. But they had vast wisdom and were able to assist in forming and running a government by using that wisdom and the intellect of others.  Fortunately, Dr. Carson appears to have the same intellect and wisdom and exhibits this with shrewd assessment and analysis of the issue.

Another reason he will likely keep his stride is simply because he is not a politician.  As much as the media has tried to make this a negative, it’s exactly the reason Dr. Carson and Mr. Trump have done so well in the polls.  In fact, looking at the polls of competency for our national politicians, one can hardly make a case against a world renown brain surgeon or a businessman that admittedly knows how to work the system for his own profit (at least he’s honest about it, unlike the pocket-lined politicians currently in office.)  According to a Rasmussen telephone poll from July, only 13% of those surveyed felt Congress was doing a good or excellent job, while the president’s ratings have been fluctuating under 50%.

Though they managed to declare their Independence from Great Britain, fight and win a war with a ragtag militia, and form a new government with the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, the previously noted Founders of our country were not Ivy League accomplished, neither were they political gurus.  They were inventors, surveyor turned general, businessmen, writers, as well as academics and lawyers.

What would the media say about Founding Fathers, Washington, a war general, Franklin an inventor, failed businessman Samuel Adams, or mere physician Benjamin Rush if they chose to run for president now –“He can’t run for office, he’s just a businessman” or “He isn’t fit to be president, he’s just a physician.”  How many people in the press would question Samuel Adams about his failed business?

If Dr. Carson were to change the tone of his campaign to appear more aggressive like Trump, it would clearly send a message that he is bowing to political pressure to score points, and that is contrary to his position of why he is running.  He has differentiated himself by being a level headed, thought provoking man of wisdom.  Any attempt to change his campaign tone now would be damaging, and the media would pounce on him.  

The media has already attempted to accuse Carson of trading jabs with Trump for merely being honest when answering a question about Trump’s supposed faith. According to CBS News, Carson was asked if he thought Trump was sincere about his religion, to which Carson responded, “I haven’t heard it. I haven’t seen it.” He even went on to clarify, “Maybe I’m wrong…” to which Trump responded with his usual fiery tone and insulting remarks at Carson, calling him, “an okay surgeon, I guess.” Even though the media tried to start a verbal brawl between Carson and Trump, the two top contenders, all Carson did was answer a simple question without malice.

However, John Philip Sousa IV, Chairman of the 2016 Committee, a Super Pac committed to getting Dr. Ben Carson elected to the White House took exception with Trump’s malicious response. He said that “Trump calling Dr. Carson an okay doctor is paramount to saying that he had heard that Trump built a couple of apartments with the help  of a couple of buddies.

Carson was the youngest head of pediatric surgery at John Hopkins Hospital and was in fact the medical professional that developed the process for separating twins conjoined at the head. He was responsible for $100 million dollar budgets and a very large team.”

Dr. Carson is proverbially, ‘As shrewd as a snake and as innocent as a dove.’  He understands that God, not man appoints Kings, and believes as he quoted as his favorite Bible scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.’

So if you’re looking for someone to verbally shred you’re opponent, dazzle you with their smile or fool you with their charm, Dr. Carson is not your nominee.  But if you’re looking for a shrewd intellect with a long measure of wisdom, keep your eyes on the surgeon.