Pruden: The Hunting of Ben Carson

The civility and good manners crowd is attempting to destroy Ben Carson, but so far it isn’t working. He said something about Muslim presidential candidates that was harsh but a mile this side of over-the-top, and instead of a ride out of town on a rusty rail he watched his numbers spike.

Being nice to others is always a good thing — it’s about time that someone stood up for manners — but the doc has rights, too. Free speech is one of them.

What he actually said about whether he could support a Muslim candidate for president has been lost in the noisy uproar over a quiet and measured observation about reality in America and the world. If he had actually said that Muslims should not be allowed to run for president, as he has been widely quoted as saying, he would deserve criticism and perhaps even demands that he quit the race. But he didn’t say that.

In such an uproar, promoted by those who can’t be bothered by looking and listening to what the man actually said, only the narrative is important.

A reporter asked Mr. Carson whether he thinks Shariah law, the governing legal code set down in the Koran, the holy book of Muslims worldwide, is consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

“No,” he said, “I do not.”

That’s the answer that almost any jackleg lawyer or jackleg judge would have said to anyone who asks.

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