Matt Roth for The New York Times
Dr. Benjamin Carson, a well-known neurosurgeon, is drawing notice for his political speeches.
BALTIMORE — Dr. Benjamin Carson was a political unknown just weeks ago.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Audience members at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland last week cheered Dr. Carson, on screen, after he said, "Let's just say if you magically put me in the White House "
Then with a single speech delivered as President Obama looked stonily on, he was lofted into the conservative firmament as its newest star: a renowned neurosurgeon who is black and has the credibility to attack the president on health care.
In his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last month, Dr. Carson criticized the health care overhaul and higher taxes on the rich, while warning that "the P.C. police are out in force at all times."
Overnight, he was embraced by conservatives including those at The Wall Street Journal editorial page, which proclaimed, "Ben Carson for President" — a suggestion Dr. Carson helped feed at a high-profile gathering last weekend, the Conservative Political Action Conference. He was interrupted by sustained cheers when he coyly said, "Let's just say if you magically put me in the White House..."
In an interview in his office at Johns Hopkins University, he said he had been told for years that he could have a political career. It would be built on his compelling personal story that began in poverty in Detroit, leading to fame through pioneering work separating conjoined twins and his own self-help and inspirational books, including "America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great."
While Dr. Carson, 61, said that there were better candidates out there, he did not rule out a presidential run in 2016. "Certainly if a year and a half went by and there was no one on the scene and people are still clamoring, I would have to take that into consideration," he said in the interview. "I would never turn my back on my fellow citizens."
He is in some ways a dream candidate for Republicans. But he also fits nicely into the realm of fantasy where the very early jockeying over 2016 now plays out. No modern contender without a political résumé has ever gotten close to a major party nomination.
But political strategists said that outsiders can have an impact, especially when they expose the shortcomings of conventional candidates.
"I think it speaks to the vacuum not just in the Republican Party but in politics," Alex Castellanos, a Republican consultant, said of Dr. Carson's appeal. "Anybody who is serious and thoughtful and an antipolitician is the opposite of the mess we've got now. If you can separate two Siamese twins, maybe you can separate Democrats and Republicans in Washington."
Dr. Carson has been all but overwhelmed since his speech at the Feb. 7 prayer breakfast, which exploded on YouTube and was fanned by his follow-up appearances on Fox News.
"If you are calling with remarks regarding that speech, please do not leave a message on this voice mail," his office recording instructs callers, referring them to a fax line and e-mail address. The recording, nearly seven minutes long, also includes instructions for speaking requests, media interviews, school visits and autographs, as well as how to buy Dr. Carson's books "and other merchandise."
Sales of "America the Beautiful," his latest book, soared to 46,000 in the six weeks since his prayer breakfast speech, from fewer than 1,000 sold this year before to the speech, according to Nielsen BookScan.
"People all over the nation are starved for honesty and common sense," Dr. Carson said in his office. He had seven pens jammed in the pocket of his physician coat, which he wore over blue scrubs and scuffed white sneakers. He spoke very softly, but not because he is shy or self-deprecating. He told the CPAC audience that some of his most poignant feedback came "from older Americans who said they had given up and they were waiting to die and now they felt a sense of revival once again."
In speeches and writings, Dr. Carson describes growing up with a divorced mother whose education stopped at the third grade and who worked two, and sometimes, three jobs. He was teased as "dummy" because his grades were so bad. But his mother insisted that he and an older brother turn off the television and read, writing weekly book reports that she could only feign understanding.
He went to Yale and the University of Michigan Medical School, and at 33, became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He gained fame for a series of operations separating conjoined twins, long and risky procedures that did not always succeed. His 1996 autobiography, "Gifted Hands," became a movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr.
"He is one of the acknowledged leaders of pediatric neurosurgery," said Dr. Donlin Long, a retired chairman of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, who first brought Dr. Carson to the department.
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