Yesterday, when my granddaughter brought in the mail, there was a fat envelope from the campaign offices of Dr. Ben Carson with his picture prominently displayed on the front of the envelope. I frequently tease her about bringing in nothing but “junk mail”, so she wasn’t surprised when I gave her a mock-stern look and said “do you know who this is from and where it should go?” I explained to her that this was a campaign solicitation for Dr. Ben Carson, a renowned medical professional turned radical right-wing politician who is planning to run for the republican nomination for president in 2016. I further explained that Dr. Carson has been an extremely vitriolic critic of President Obama, going so far as to refer to him as a psychopath. My granddaughter is a smart girl and she picked the envelope up with two fingers, rather as one might a rag that had been used to clean the dog’s rear end, and tossed it in the appropriate place, the trash can.

Dr. Ben Carson has earned numerous awards in the field of medicine and he was the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. He was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At 33, he became the youngest major division director in the hospital’s history as director of pediatric neurosurgery. There can be no doubt that Dr. Carson was an excellent and dedicated physician. He retired from the medical field in July 2013 and has recently thrown his hat in the ever-growing ring of GOP presidential hopefuls. It is too bad he didn’t stick with medicine and stay out of politics, as he is now merely another addition to the radical right wing of the Republican Party. Dr. Carson has very limited knowledge of international relations, which is critical in today’s global environment. During a recent briefing on the political system of Israel, Dr. Carson appeared bored and commented that “It sounds complex,” he finally said. “Why don’t they just adopt the system we have?” Sure, Doc, let’s just suggest that to Mr. Netanyahu! Run it up the ol’ flagpole, as they say, and see if it flies. Recently, the Carson campaign has lost four of its senior advisors who have not yet been replaced. Based on some of these comments and gaffes, it would seem that this man is in serious need of some level-headed and politically educated advisors. Now without further ado, let us get to know Candidate Carson.

• Carson is against the legalization of recreational cannabis. He believes it to be a gateway drug that leads to “hedonistic activity”. Hedonistic activity??? Really, Ben, who uses that term anymore? And do you honestly believe that the legalization of pot is more likely to lead to “hedonistic activity” any more than alcohol consumption, which has been legal ever since the ratification of the 21st amendment to the Constitution in 1933, repealing prohibition?

• He stated that he is strongly in favor of the Second Amendment. He also said that if in a position of national authority, he would allow citizens to own any weapons, including automatic and semi-automatic guns that they could buy. Wonderful, Ben, let’s have everybody running around toting sub-machine guns in Kroger!

• He claimed that the ACA (commonly known as Obamacare) originated with Vladimir Lenin, and quoted Lenin as saying that “socialized medicine is the keystone to the establishment of a socialist state”. There is no evidence that Lenin actually said this, and it was ill-advised for Carson to say it, as well.

• He supports a flat tax, which he calls the “proportional tax”. The problems with a flat tax are far too numerous and complex to cover in this essay, but my point in mentioning this is that Dr. Carson is not an economist and obviously doesn’t understand the impact such a taxation policy would have on the infamous 99%. Again, he needs to hire some qualified advisors soon!

• He considers political correctness to be “dangerous”, because it “goes against freedom of expression”. What is political correctness other than common courtesy toward those who are different, whether of a different race, religion, body style, gender orientation, or nationality?

• “Being president”, Carson says, “ain’t exactly brain surgery”. No, it sure “ain’t”, Ben, though I think each has specific qualifications and the two “ain’t” the same. I’m sure Dr. Carson was a highly qualified neurosurgeon, but he “ain’t” got the qualifications to be president.

• “Like most psychopaths,” Carson grumbled. “That’s why they’re successful. That’s the way they look. They all look great.” Said in reference to President Obama as he gave his sixth State of the Union address. I understand that Mr. Carson may disagree with some, or even most, of the President’s policies, but the name-calling is reminiscent of something that belongs on the kindergarten playground.

• He’s invoked bestiality and pedophilia while arguing against gay marriage, and earlier this month, during an appearance on CNN, he argued that homosexuality is a choice, “because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight, and when they come out, they’re gay.” (After an uproar, Carson issued an apology and declared he would no longer talk about gay rights.) Nothing like spouting a bit of rhetoric on a topic about which you obviously have no knowledge, huh?

• Railing against ACA, he declared that Obamacare is “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery” and, in fact, “is slavery, in a way.” Similarly outrageous was his contention that “we live in a Gestapo age” and that America today is “very much like Nazi Germany.” You’re kidding, right Ben? I guess history wasn’t required reading in med school.

Though he ranks fairly well in some of the early polls, the odds of Dr. Carson winning the GOP nomination next year are slim. The field is so diluted by an over-abundance of candidates as to be laughable and because of his lack of experience and knowledge in the areas of economics, law and foreign relations, he is likely to be weeded out early in the process, perhaps even in the first debate. Dr. Carson did some great things as a medical doctor, and it’s a shame he gave that up for a pie-in-the-sky dream.