Ballot Boxing: Carson's top aides resign, Trump rides high

Welcome to Ballot Boxing, WORLD’s political roundup of news and views from the presidential campaign trail.

By Jamie Dean

In a dramatic blow to a struggling presidential bid, Republican contender Ben Carson saw two of his top aides quit the campaign on New Year’s Eve.

On Thursday afternoon, Doug Watts issued his last statement as Carson’s communication director, saying he and campaign manager Barry Bennett were resigning, effective immediately. Bennett told Reuters some 20 staffers had quit the campaign.

The news comes as Carson’s national poll numbers have plummeted in recent weeks. In early November, the retired neurosurgeon tied GOP front-runner Donald Trump for first place at 24.8 percent. This week, Carson landed in fourth place at 9.4 percent.

Carson’s struggles are multi-tiered: As he stumbled on foreign policy, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) hit hard on Islamist terror threats in the wake of the November attacks in Paris and gained ground among evangelicals who had favored Carson in Iowa. Current polls show Cruz in first place in Iowa, leading Trump by three points in the contest slated for Feb. 1.

Another problem: tension among Carson’s top advisers. Clashes developed between some of Carson’s aides and his business manager, Armstrong Williams, a longtime friend of Carson’s who doesn’t have an official role with the campaign.

Though he’s not officially on staff, Williams often appeared as a Carson surrogate on news shows, and he recently openly criticized how Carson’s aides have prepared the candidate for public appearances.

In November, Carson said Williams didn’t speak for the campaign, even as Williams appeared on television explaining Carson’s approach to foreign policy.

On Dec. 23, Carson indicated in an Associated Press interview he was considering a major campaign shake-up. Hours later, he said he had “full confidence in his team.” Bennett attributed Carson’s confusing statements to advice from Williams.

After his resignation, Bennett told AP that Carson was “one of the smartest men I’ve ever worked for,” but said he believes Carson has become Williams’ “script reader.”

Williams told Reuters he was “shocked” by Bennett’s criticism, and suggested Bennett and Watts resigned so they wouldn’t be fired.

Carson’s campaign released a statement on Thursday, announcing “enhancements” to the campaign and naming Ed Brookover, a former senior strategist, as the new campaign manager and Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Dees, Carson’s adviser on foreign policy and military affairs, as campaign chairman. The statement didn’t respond to the concerns about Williams.

Williams appeared on CNN on Thursday evening, saying Carson has had a “burden” lifted with the campaign changes.

When I interviewed Carson this fall, he peppered the conversation with quotes from the book of Proverbs. One of the first he mentioned: “In an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

The inner workings of a campaign are complex and political—and divisions often develop—but if the concerns about Williams’ influence have merit, they point to an important dynamic about advisers: An abundance of counselors is most helpful when one weighs advice from all of them.

While Carson sank, Trump continued to ride high in the GOP primaries, just one month before the Iowa caucuses. While Cruz is challenging Trump’s front-runner status in Iowa, the business mogul maintains a comfortable lead in the early states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.

He also remains comfortable with a brash style that doesn’t seem to dent his poll numbers. During a recent campaign stop in Michigan, Trump commented on the recent Democratic presidential debate and noted Hillary Clinton returned late to the stage after a bathroom break.

“I know where she went—it’s disgusting. I don’t want to talk about it,” Trump told the crowd. “No, it’s too disgusting.” The crowd laughed and cheered.

It was a trivial moment—and just one of many over-the-top lines from Trump—but it underscores another warning raised in Proverbs: “Pride and arrogance … and perverted speech I hate.”

That’s not just because those qualities are unappealing. Proverbs directly connects humility and gracious speech with true wisdom, and reminds its readers: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

While pundits and politicians (and journalists alike) continue furiously to read poll numbers and make predictions about the looming presidential contests, here’s another important reminder from Proverbs for all of us as a new year dawns:

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day brings.”