Ben Carson Calls Presidency ‘Horrible, Stressful’

Respected neurosurgeon and conservative activist Dr. Ben Carson is heavily weighing a presidential run. He’s recently noted that he feels the “fingers of God pushing me to run in 2016.”

But the man of God wants to be sure. And he’s still not sure, as evidenced in a recent interview with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.

Candidly acknowledging the downside of being president, Carson said, the presidency is a “kind of horrible situation” for a person to be in.

“I’m not sure that anybody wants to put themselves into that kind of horrible, stressful situation. It certainly has not been a goal of mine,” Carson said in response to a question from Blitzer on Wednesday.

Carson said he would make a decision on whether to run by May 2015 and acknowledged that supporters and volunteers are already in the field in primary-battleground states such as Iowa.

A new CNN/ORC poll showed Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, leading with 20 percent support to Carson’s 10 percent. Romney also leads, with 19 percent support, in a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 11 percent, according to report on newsmax.com. Carson is tied in that poll with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 8 percent.

It is that support, he says, which is why he continues to consider a presidential run. “However, I do recognize that the direction of our country is not a good one. And I think millions of Americans resonate with that. And many of those Americans have been indicating that they want me to do it.

“So whether I want to do it or not, I do feel an obligation to at least very seriously consider the possibility,” Carson said.

In his highly regarded book, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future, Carson wrote, “It is true that we are enjoying the benefits of the system set up by our founders, and we are relatively quite comfortable because previous generations have made good choices. Nevertheless, the fog has been gathering for years, and we must act quickly and decisively to deal with substantial issues if we don’t want to destroy our children’s future.” The former pediatric neurosurgeon says he will continue building a campaign infrastructure because he believes in “always being prepared.” 

“I believe in always being prepared. So if you do make that decision, you don’t start out behind the eight ball,” he told Blitzer.