Even the NY Times Is Taking Notice of Viral Conservative Star Ben Carson

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson has been on a roll since his viral speech at the National Prayer Breakfast slamming President Obama's healthcare policies. And now, after a rock star greeting at CPAC, an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, and a push from Rush Limbaugh as the next-big-conservative-thing,  it appears that Carson's stock has risen even further as he now has one thing that is generally a signal that liberals have taken notice: a profile in the New York Times.

Ben Carson (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

And funnily enough, it's not a hit piece. Excerpts follow:

In an interview in his office at Johns Hopkins University, [Dr. Carson] said he had been told for years that he could have a political career. It would be built on his compelling personal story that began in poverty in Detroit, leading to fame through pioneering work separating conjoined twins and his own self-help and inspirational books, including “America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great.”

While Dr. Carson, 61, said that there were better candidates out there, he did not rule out a presidential run in 2016. “Certainly if a year and a half went by and there was no one on the scene and people are still clamoring, I would have to take that into consideration,” he said in the interview. “I would never turn my back on my fellow citizens.”

He is in some ways a dream candidate for Republicans. But he also fits nicely into the realm of fantasy where the very early jockeying over 2016 now plays out. No modern contender without a political résumé has ever gotten close to a major party nomination.[...]

In speeches and writings, Dr. Carson describes growing up with a divorced mother whose education stopped at the third grade and who worked two, and sometimes, three jobs. He was teased as “dummy” because his grades were so bad. But his mother insisted that he and an older brother turn off the television and read, writing weekly book reports that she could only feign understanding.

He went to Yale and the University of Michigan Medical School, and at 33, became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He gained fame for a series of operations separating conjoined twins, long and risky procedures that did not always succeed. His 1996 autobiography, “Gifted Hands,” became a movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr.[...]

As for politics, he said, “I would like to have a voice.”

Is this a sign that Carson has arrived on the media scene in a serious way? Time will tell. However, there is a prospect for a more realistic run for Carson than jumping straight into the field for President in 2016. Maryland's gubernatorial race in 2014 is wide open, and the Republican field is weak. If Carson decided to switch from being a registered independent to the GOP, one can only guess what he might accomplish.