Under fire from pro-lifers for saying the Republican led effort to save Terry Schiavo’s life was “much ado about nothing,” Carson now claims the media misrepresented his comments.
Actually, they did not.
But, hey, on the plus side, Carson finally realized Schiavo was not terminally ill.
The neurosurgeon told LifeSiteNews.com Wednesday that, “When I used the term ‘much ado about nothing,’ my point was that the media tried to create the impression that the pro-life community was nutty and going way overboard with the support of the patient.”
“When the patient is not terminal, as Terri Schiavo was not, the treatment plan should be determined on the basis of the consensus between the family and the healthcare providers. Terri’s case should have never been turned into the media circus that we witnessed.”
Some obvious questions arise.
If his widely-reported comments were really so horribly distorted why did he wait five days to correct them? In fact, his campaign yesterday failed to provide a promised statement to LifeSiteNews.com.
And is it some strange coincidence that Carson got wise to the media’s wicked ways right after some anti-abortion advocated started to criticize him?
Carson’s claim that he used “much ado about nothing” as an objection to unfair coverage by the media effort by Jeb Bush and Congressional republicans to prevent the removal of Schiavo’s feeding tube defies credulity.
It is clear from the original article that Carson was talking specifically about the gargantuan legislative and court battle by Republicans to block Schiavo’s husband from having her starved to death. Nothing in his quote refers in any way to media coverage.
“The Tampa Bay Times asked Dr. Ben Carson, a medical doctor and a favorite of Evangelical voters, what he thought at the time about governmental intervention into the matter.
“’I said at the time, ‘We face those kinds of issues all the time and while I don’t believe in euthanasia, you have to recognize that people that are in that condition do have a series of medical problems that occur that will take them out,'” Carson said. “Your job is to keep them comfortable throughout that process and not to treat everything that comes up.’”
The paper then asked Carson “was it appropriate for Bush, the Florida Legislature and Congress to intervene?”
“’I don’t think it needed to get to that level,” Carson said. “I think it was much ado about nothing. Those things are taken care of every single day just the way I described.’”
Of course, anything is possible. It is possible that Carson offered up his media commentary and the reporter just did not hear him. And it is possible Ed Schultz asked a question at Barack Obama’s first presidential press conference but only MSNBC president Phil Griffin heard him.
Still, a simple apology, as Schiavo’s own brother requested, would have been appropriate.
But, hey, being conservatives’ great black hope means never having to say you are sorry.
Carson has never backed down from his frequent contention that this country is like Nazi Germany. Or his stated opposition to the United States invading Afghanistan after 9/11.
Top Carson aide and Louis Farrakhan enthusiast Armstrong Williams did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
UPDATE: Carson campaign communications director Doug Watts emailed later Wednesday afternoon to say that correcting the supposed media distortions was not his “top priority” because “Dr Carson’s pro-life mantle is strong and undeniable. Few can match his record of consistency and integrity. That ought to be worth a little patience and a couple days delay.”