Why do I feel that the chance of seemingly kindly Ben Carson being President is even slimmer than that of Donald Trump, a dump truck of a human being who’s always ready to pour dirt all over anything he deems in his way?

Perhaps that’s because Carson’s politics are truly much more retrograde than Trump’s, considering the neurosurgeon holds devout beliefs and the cartoonish real-estate mogul doesn’t really possess any, just hasty positions informed by a surfeit of ego and other personality defects. They’re as meaningful as when he asserts that he’s the “biggest builder in New York City,” even though he long ago stopped building here.

Trump’s a xenophobe and racist, the Birther-in-Chief, and his plan to drive millions of undocumented immigrants and their families from America is scary. But perhaps like most of his contentions, this scheme is more bullshit he’s made up as he’s gone along. And any of his few attempts at policy beyond blaming “foreigners” seem stabs in the dark. He might change his feelings about them tomorrow, or even about running for President at all. His only intention, at long last, is attention.

Carson, conversely, genuinely wants to wage a war on women–or, at least, in his own Atwoodian terms, “what’s inside of women“–whereas Trump wants have a look inside for other reasons. Carson really believes “being gay is a choice.” He’s said with conviction that Obamacare is the “worst thing since slavery.” He means it.

Beware the quiet ones.

From Edward Luce’s FT column about the contrasting styles of the two early GOP leaders:

The personality difference between the two is acute. Mr Carson’s demeanour is as gentle — and apparently devoid of anger — as Mr Trump’s is harsh. As the only African-American in the race, Mr Carson, 63, sparks comparisons with Herman Cain, the pizza parlour king, who briefly held sway in the 2012 race with his tirelessly recited “999” tax plan. Mr Carson’s moment in the sun may end just as quickly. Yet his numbers have been building steadily for the past three months. At the second Republican debate on Wednesday night he will stand on the centre of stage next to Mr Trump. It will be a study in contrasts.

What unites them is their outsider status — at this point, experience is the biggest handicap in the Republican battle. Any hint of a past in politics is toxic. Almost everything else differs. Mr Trump comes from a wealthy background as the son of a New York developer. Mr Carson is genuinely self-made. Raised by an illiterate single mother in Detroit, he worked his way to become head of the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital and became the first surgeon, in 1987, to separate Siamese twins at birth. His autobiography, Gifted Hands, remains a best-seller. Among some Christian conservatives, Mr Carson is viewed as a handmaiden of the Lord.

Yet his rise is baffling to electoral veterans. If anything, Mr Carson’s string of gaffes are more shocking than Mr Trump’s.•