Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson takes part in the presidential debates at the Reagan Library on September 16, 2015 in Simi Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Tonight political newcomer Dr. Ben Carson was a featured participant in the CNN GOP debate. How did the doctor do answering his questions in what his presidency would be like?
According to Nate Silver’s Fivethirtyeight, Carson’s chance of being president may be fading. Fivethirtyeight writes:
Ben Carson was incorrectly written off by the media as having a poor performance during the first Republican debate. In fact, however, Google search traffic suggested that a lot of people were looking him up during the debate. It turned out that he was rewarded with a bounce in the polls.
But this time around? Carson’s well behind in Google search traffic versus Trump, Fiorina and Jeb Bush. And — relatedly — he hasn’t had that much airtime, or made much of what he’s had. Voters can appreciate Carson’s quiet demeanor. But it’s one thing to be low-key, and another to be low-energy.
The Google traffic that Silver references can be viewed below.
(Google)
In the graph, Carson is represented in green. He is basically a flatline in regards to interest in search terms throughout the debate.
Complaints about Carson have been that he seems too nice to be president. Carson took on that complaint on CBS’ “Meet the Press”, saying:
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being nice. But my life is multi-faceted.”
It seems like Carson’s time may be up as a presidential hopeful. Watch the full debate here.