CHUCK TODD:
Final question. You would not, I'm guessing you would not hire somebody to be a doctor if they didn't have experience in the medical field. What do you say to folks that say, "Why should we hire you as president when you have no experience in government or the political field?"
DR. BEN CARSON:
I would say that there are a lot of people who like to believe that whatever they do is the end-all and that nobody could absolutely do things better than they could. It's sort of like the Constitution. People say, "What are you doing talking about the Constitution? You're not a constitutional lawyer."
Well, the Constitution was written at a eighth grade level for a reason. They wanted the people to be able to understand how they were being governed. And our government was set up for citizen statesmen, not for career politicians. And, you know, common sense is a lot more valuable than many years in the political arena.
Witness the fact that in Congress we have 8,700 years of political experience. Where has that gotten us? And I think the people are willing to open their eyes and say, "Let's talk about common sense." Now, that doesn't mean that if someone like me were to get in, that we wouldn't have plenty of people around us who were well-seasoned in what was going on in Washington and in various parts of the world.
CHUCK TODD:
So you're going to surround yourself with experienced people is what you're saying?
DR. BEN CARSON:
I think you have to do that. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said in Proverbs 11:14, "In a multitude of counselors is safety." If the wisest man who ever lived thought that, I certainly believe that. I think you're a fool if you think you know everything.
