By the looks of things, America may have another black president in November 2016 — Ben Carson.
A new Gallup poll showed that the Republican political novice is the "best-liked of all presidential candidates."
Carson recently overtook erstwhile Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in the race for their party's presidential nomination. The latest polls also showed that among GOP bets, Carson has the best chance of beating the runaway Democratic presidential bet Hillary Clinton.
The new Gallup poll showed Carson with a net favourable score of "+59" among Republicans nationwide.
"But Carson is popular not only with Republicans, he also has a net favourable score of +21 among national adults—the highest of any candidate from either party," Andrew Dugan wrote in the Gallup statement.
"The public gives other prominent presidential candidates either a lukewarm or an unfavourable reception, including Marco Rubio (+5), Jeb Bush (-2), Hillary Clinton (-6) and Donald Trump (-22)," according to Dugan.
An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey earlier showed Carson taking the lead in the Republican presidential race, garnering 29 percent support against Trump's 23 percent. That could explain why Trump has intensified his attacks on Carson in an attempt to regain the lead, sources said. It is noteworthy to point out that Carson's 29 percent support is the highest ranking any Republican candidate has obtained.
Many political pundits have spoken glowingly about Carson.
Writing for the National Review, Henry Olson said Carson "is doing something no one has done in decades, [combining] a values-laden conservative message with a soft-spoken, humble persona."
"Others who have sought Reagan's mantle have emulated elements of the Gipper's approach, but none have spoken the language of freedom and the morality of the Bible with such eloquence and calm until now.
"He talks about moral decline without the rancour or anger that typified other past favourites of the party's religious conservative faction. He talks about the loss of American freedom without the sense of foreboding and doom that characterise all too many who seek to lead the tea-party wing. He talks about fiscal restraint and tax cuts without seeming to care more about numbers than people, as too many have who've sought the favour of the party's fiscal-soft libertarian faction. And he so far has projected the calm, deliberative nature that somewhat-conservatives crave," Olson said.
As the only black candidate running for president in either party, Carson is more popular with blacks compared with his GOP rivals.
"For the moment, Carson is the most popular major-party candidate—and by a wide margin," Dugan wrote
Author and journalist David Kupelian said Carson is drawing massive support all over the nation because Americans want a good person as president.
"People are hungry to have somebody as a president who is basically a thoroughly decent, moral human being," Kupelian said in a recent appearance on the Roku television show, "America's Survival TV."
"I think people know he doesn't know everything. He's not a politician. He doesn't understand everything about government and debts and deficits and all that, the intricacies of government. He is a smart guy; he is a brain surgeon! So they know he can learn that stuff," said Kupelian, the author of the popular new book, "The Snapping of the American Mind."
The book author pointed out that World War II general Dwight D. Eisenhower had never held elected office before he was elected President.
Kupelian said Carson would be far different from Barack Obama, the first US black president, because he is what America wants: a decent, smart person who embodies traditional American values.
"They want somebody who has the American, Judeo-Christian sensibilities that Eisenhower and pretty much all the other presidents going back to George Washington had," Kupelian said.
Because of his rising popularity, Carson is seeing a new and higher level of media scrutiny, according to TIME. Moreover, his Republican rivals, particularly Trump, are now targeting him.
