“Even if all the media tries to shut you down, which they have tried very much to do with me, but they can’t because the good Lord has provided me with mechanisms like my syndicated column and like Fox News.  We’d be Cuba if there were no Fox News.”

— Ben Carson, quoted by Mother Jones.

Jonathan Chait: “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. The problem is not only that he has never run for elected office. He has never managed a large organization; he has not worked in and around public policy, and he lacks a competent grasp of issues. His stance on health care, the closest thing to an issue with which his professional experience has brought him into contact, is gibberish. He mostly thrills audiences by scoffing at evolution and insisting Muslims be barred from the presidency, stances he cannot even defend coherently.”

First Read: “Not only is Carson leading the Republican horserace with the highest percentage yet in our poll (29%), he also hits 50% when you combine GOP voters’ first and second choices — the only Republican presidential candidate to do that. Then take the fact that he’s raising the most money in the Republican race (his campaign reported raising $10 million in October alone, putting it on pace to raise $30 million for the quarter). And then add in that he gets the most social-media interaction when it comes to Facebook.”

“Anyone who wants to dismiss Carson as Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann is making a big mistake.”

Bloomberg: “Sunday church services and the Sabbath are prime time for Carson’s operation, as the retired neurosurgeon tries to build a campaign infrastructure worthy of his front-runner status in the lead-off presidential nominating state.”

“Often assisting with the church-recruitment effort is Carson’s logo-wrapped campaign bus, which travels nationwide with its own schedule and Twitter handle, @healerhauler. Besides chatting with church-goers about Carson, volunteers and campaign workers sometimes hand out bumper stickers or beverages in church parking lots.”

“Ben Carson’s campaign wants to take the coming Republican presidential primary debates off television and broadcast them over the Internet, while turning the forums into a series of lengthy candidate statements with far less time for moderators’ questions,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The retired neurosurgeon’s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, is convening a meeting of GOP campaign representatives Sunday night. Mr. Bennett has already presented the other campaigns and the Republican National Committee with his proposal: a minimum of five minutes for opening and closing statements with all major declared GOP candidates on stage.”

Gawker: “Over the last ten years, Ben Carson has given speeches for Mannatech, a sketchy nutritional supplement company that does not, surprisingly, produce actual snake oil. He’s appeared in infomercials. He admits the company helped fund his endowed chair at Johns Hopkins. He even endorsed their product during the GOP debate Wednesday. But one thing he denies? Having ‘any kind of relationship with them.’ Huh?”

“This is… untrue. Carson, the Wall Street Journal pointed out earlier this month, has often made reference to a long and lucrative association with the company that he says has been good for both his career and his health.”

“Ben Carson, whose appeal as a political novice has thrust him to the top of the Republican presidential field, faces a critical test in Wednesday night’s debate — defending a policy platform that he is building so fast that he and his staff have struggled to explain it,” the Washington Post reports.

“Carson, for instance, has indicated that he wants to loosen U.S. gun laws significantly. But his campaign says he doesn’t. Carson also said he wants to tax everyone at 10 percent, a system he said was drawn from the Bible. But Carson’s campaign says it could be 15 percent, or some other amount. Aides say to expect detailed plans in a month.”

Byron York: “The first is likability. Carson’s personal favorability ratings with Republican voters are through the roof, easily the best in the field. Whoever attacks him would by definition have a lower favorability rating than Carson, and the fear is that such an attack would just drive the attacker’s rating lower and Carson’s higher.”

“The second is fairness. Carson hasn’t gone after his fellow candidates. Indeed, part of his appeal is that he has specifically eschewed Republican-on-Republican violence… So far, at least, Carson has particularly impressed those voters who want to see Republicans attack Democrats, and not each other.”

“The third reason is race, and it is by far the most complicated. Carson is the only black candidate in the contest. Republican voters admire his rise-from-poverty life story, and Carson represents a chance for the GOP to connect with black voters in a way the party hasn’t done in generations.”

The Atlantic: “In Carson’s case, a majority of what he’s raising is being plowed right back into fundraising costs—$11.2 million of the nearly $20.8 million. That means 54 cents out of every dollar Carson raises is going to raise more money. Carson’s campaign only spent roughly $3 million on everything else—merchandise, office supplies, field staff, space, travel, and so on.”

Ben Carson said he would “love” to see Roe vs. Wade overturned, making abortion illegal nationwide, with almost no exemptions, NBC News reports.

Said Carson: “I’m a reasonable person and if people can come up with a reasonable explanation of why they would like to kill a baby, I’ll listen.”

“I don’t get into the mud pit. And I’m not going to be talking about people. I will tell you in terms of energy I’m not sure that there’s anybody else running who’s spent 18 or 20 hours intently operating on somebody.”

— Ben Carson, quoted by Politico, rebutting Donald Trump’s claim that he’s “super low energy.”

Ben Carson’s surging campaign will begin airing two television ads in key early voting states on Friday, NBC News has learned.

“The $500,000 ad buy will air in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, and includes themes centered on Carson’s history as a doctor and status as an outsider in the 2016 race. Both ads end with the tagline: ‘Heal, Inspire, Revive.'”