For some reason, CNBC's John Harwood thought it would be a good idea to interview neurosurgeon turned professional wack-job presidential candidate Ben Carson, as if Carson was someone for a national news media figure to take seriously. I guess NBC thinks they can do this if they call him a "maverick" and say he is "the most unorthodox candidate in the 2016 Republican presidential field."

So, sure, let's go with it. How unorthodox is he?



Harwood: It sounds as if your preferred alternative both to Obamacare and to Medicare is a system of self-reliance in which you'd be responsible for your own care and that of members of your family. Carson: That's how you pay for it. Harwood: And you could replace both the Medicare system and Obamacare with that system of HSAs (health savings accounts)? Carson: Absolutely. I think when people are able to see how much more freedom they will have, and how much more flexibility they will have, I think it's going to be a no-brainer."

Yes, if you can call being uninsured "flexibility." Let me venture a guess that neurosurgeon Ben Carson hasn't really had to experience the whole not-having-any-extra-money-to-put-into-a-health-savings-account thing. Thing is, that doesn't necessarily make Carson all that much of a "maverick" or "unorthodox" Republican. All he's really talking about here is privatizing Medicare and helping out Wall Street, which is what health savings accounts are really all about.

That still doesn't mean Carson is worth anyone's time, much less CNBC's.