I’ve argued that Donald Trump isn’t a true Presidential candidate but rather an impetuous baby-man who desperately needs attention but desires none of the very real responsibility that comes with such a job. 

Of course, running for the GOP nomination for reasons other than politics isn’t something novel to 2015. For quite a while and for quite a few “candidates,” the process has been merely a stepping-stone to more lucrative businesses, from FOX News correspondent to right-wing think-tank appointments to speaking tours. The losers now will be later to win.  

How many of the Republican swarm this time are really just Herman Cain without the pizza and the 999s? In a New York column, Jonathan Chait nominates Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who’s worked on a lot of brains, though, it would seem based on his ideas about America, not his own. One of the polling leaders, Carson seems less concerned with whistle-stop tours than the gravy train.

Chait’s opening:

On February 7, 2013, Ben Carson appeared at a National Prayer Breakfast, where he visibly annoyed President Obama by delivering a right-wing speech denouncing Obamacare and cultural liberalism, and calling for a flat tax based on the biblical tithe. Conservatives, still devastated by Obama’s reelection, took delight in the appearance on the scene of a surprising new presidential antagonist, who until that point had no political profile. “Finally, a self-reliant conservative decided to make this every bit as political as Obama does,” tweeted conservative pundit David Limbaugh. The Wall Street Journal celebrated Carson’s remarks in a shorteditorial, headlined “Ben Carson for President.” The headline was obviously hyperbolic; nothing in the text that followed proposed that Carson run for public office.

But now Carson actually is running for president. Or is he? It is hard to tell. Conservative politics are so closely intermingled with a lucrative entertainment complex that it is frequently impossible to distinguish between a political project (that is, something designed to result in policy change) and a money-making venture. Declaring yourself a presidential candidate gives you access to millions of dollars’ worth of free media attention that can build a valuable brand. So the mere fact that Carson calls himself a presidential candidate does not prove he is actually running for president rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to build his brand. Indeed, it is possible to be actually leading the polls without seriously trying to win the presidency.

And the notion that Carson could be president is preposterous.•