Ben Carson Blog 10

In looking at Ben Carson website I found there are many key issues that he finds important. He specifically has a page on his website called issues and on there he lists many issues that he think are important along with a picture and his stance of the issue. There is also a button that says read more that if you click on there is a full page about it.  For example he has protecting innocent life as an issues with a picture of a little baby hand and under it it says that he is pro life.

The issues that he lists, in order are, protecting innocent life, balanced budget amendment, education, keep Gitmo open, health care, keep fait in our society, Russia and lessons learned, protect the second amendment, stand by Israel our Bulwark Middle East ally, and the American people deserve a better tax code.

I chose to look at Ben Carson's opponent Donald Trump since right now they are both at the top and have similar reasons for being there. Donald Trump's page does not have an issues tab but on the other hand has a tab called positions where he says the main issue and his positions on them. They are laid out by having the title and then a description of the issues and his stance. In order, he lists the issues, U.S. - China trade reform, Veterans administration reforms, tax reform, second amendment rights, and immigration reform.

In comparing these two candidates, who are very close in the polls for very similar reasons, I was surprised to see how different their issues were. Ben Carson does not talk about veterans, China, or immigration. While Donald Trump does not mention pro life, balanced budget, education, health care, Russia, or Israel. The only issues that they both mention are the second amendment and tax reform.

I think Ben Carson does a good job setting his agenda because he mentions things that he can talk about like health care and education instead of areas where he is less experienced like China and immigration. I think he does a good job giving a wide range of issues and I really like that you can click to read more and see his exact thoughts on the issues. I felt his website was comprehensive in this area. The only down fall I see is that he mentions a lot of issues and I think it would have been more meaningful to only have a few main issues.

https://www.bencarson.com/issues

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions

Ben Carson blog #9

My candidate, Ben Carson, has a wide range of recent news stories, everything from now leading in the polls to being an impostor. I think this is because people like him for the blunt things he says and people also really dislike him for that as well. The three news stories I looked at were; "Is Ben Carson the New Republican Frontrunner?" by The Atlantic, "Ben Carson’s remarkable gibberish on Syria and Iraq, explained" by the Washington Post, and "Is Ben Carson an impostor?" by Yahoo Politics.

The first news article about Ben Carson rising to be number 1 in the polls also discusses his recent autobiography discrepancies. The article says though that Ben Carson it becoming the frontrunner by how he is handling these accusations and now has a 1-point lead on Trump. This article is both positive and negative.

The second news article about the conversation Ben Carson had about Syria and Iraq was mainly about Ben Carson’s response to U.S. foreign policy strategy in the Middle East. His response was scattered but the article says it was right but there were also a lot of "incredible nonsense" and then says he ends with a pretty decent solution. This article was good in going though Ben Carson's response and explaining all of it. This article is also both positive and negative but written very fair.

The last article is very negative towards Ben Carson and talks about all the reasons we shouldn’t trust him. This article attacks Ben Carson on his autobiography, his integrity, and his whole person and story. This article does not seem to be written fair, it says things like "Let’s leave aside the fact that, in most pursuits in American life, not trying to kill one’s mother is considered a net plus". This to me, seems like a sarcastic joke about Ben Carson trying to kill his mom, it seems very accusatory.

I think this positive and negative news coverage is good for Ben Carson in general. Most of the news seemed fair, telling both sides of the story. There are obviously bad news stories about him as well but the people who read that either already agree or disagree with it.

The coverage Ben Carson should be seeking moving forward would be news coverage discounting the negative news stories about his autobiography because right now that is the biggest negative news about him.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/is-ben-carson-the-new-republican-frontrunner/415542/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/11/ben-carsons-remarkable-gibberish-on-syria-and-iraq-explained/

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/is-ben-carson-an-impostor-1298024733794358.html

Ben Carson Blog #8: Pop Culture and Politics

I chose to look at a skit that shows a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Ben Carson about the Democratic debate. It was acted out on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon not too long ago.

This artifact describes my candidate, Ben Carson, as being weak. It does this by making fun of his soft voice and other characteristics that could by portrayed as weak. It goes into a conversation saying his soft voice is him yelling and when he whispers no one can hear him. It also portrays him napping all the time and falling asleep in the middle of the conversation. Ben Carson, on the skit, says he sleeps 4 hours every hour. It also talks about what he is going to be for Halloween and he says his favorite cartoon character. At the end it shows him with a little blanket. All of these things make him look weak and child like.

What this says about my candidate is that some people think he is weak because he is inexperienced. It also says that his soft voice affects his image and people view that as a weakness. 

The things that were mainly exaggerated in this clip were his soft voice, his nice and innocent side, and by making fun of his outrageous comments. They portray his soft voice by having him say he was yelling when really he was talking very softly. They exaggerate his nice and innocent side by having him say things like kitty cat nap, having him say "that was a humorous comment and I will now respond with laughter", or having him talk about his favorite cartoon character and having a blanket at the end. They make fun of his outrageous comments when Donald Trump says stop staying outrageous comments and stealing my campaign strategy.

These things push back on what image Ben Carson really wants to portray by making him look like a joke. The campaign has spent a lot of time into showing that he is experienced enough to be president but no so experienced that he is a career politician. This skit makes him look like a joke of a candidate and to weak to be the president.

I think this artifact will shape and change peoples opinions about Ben Carson’s image because before people might have thought his voice was soft but now they know that others think the same thing and that it can make him look like a joke of a candidate where as before they might not have put those two things together.