Ben Carson, second from left, speaks as Sen. Marco Rubio looks on during a Republican presidential primary debate Thursday in Houston. —David J. Phillip / AP

Ben Carson got by far the least speaking time of any Republican candidate in Thursday night’s CNN debate.

Desperate to get a chance to talk, Carson pleaded to the other candidates to give him a chance to invoke his right to respond.

“Can somebody attack me, please?’’ he asked, drawing good-humored applause from the crowd.

After a brief surge in national polls last fall, the retired neurosurgeon’s support collapsed. He finished in last among major candidates in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and second to last in Nevada.

Earlier in the debate, Carson lamented the lack of questions coming his way.


“People say that I whine a lot because I don’t get time. I’m gonna whine,’’ Carson said, going on to list the questions he didn’t get asked.

“This is your moment,’’ responded CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer.

Arguably for Carson, his moment was three years ago.