Ben Carson's rise in the polls has come increased media scrutiny. | AP Photo Carson pens late-night Facebook post defending lack of political experience

Ben Carson hears people's concerns about his lack of political experience but says that his own journey through life has had its benefits as he seeks the Republican nomination for president. And if experience is all a voter wants, "then I cannot be your candidate," he wrote.

"You are absolutely right — I have no political experience," Carson wrote in a Facebook post late Wednesday night in response to a question on his page about what someone should tell their friends if they say, "I like Carson but he has no political experience."


With his rise in the polls has come increased media scrutiny, due in no small part to a lack of experience in public life dealing with policy issues.

In a Miami Herald interview published Wednesday ahead of a trip to South Florida, Carson appeared flummoxed by a question about immigration, specifically the so-called wet-foot, dry-foot policy that allows for a distinction between Cubans who arrive in the United States safely on foot and those who get caught at sea.

“You’re going to have to explain to me exactly what you mean by that,” Carson said, according to the article. “I have to admit that I don’t know a great deal about that, and I don’t really like to comment until I’ve had a chance to study the issue from both sides.”

On the Cuban Adjustment Act, which permits Cubans to apply for residency in the U.S. after 366 days, Carson said, "Again, I’ve not been briefed fully on what that is."

"The current Members of Congress have a combined 8,700 years of political experience. Are we sure political experience is what we need," Carson wrote in his Facebook post. "Every signer of the Declaration of Independence had no elected office experience. What they had was a deep belief that freedom is a gift from God. They had a determination to rise up against a tyrannical King."

(In truth, many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence had elected office experience).

In his 743-word post, Carson touted his own experience as one "very different than what we have come to expect" from a presidential hopeful.

"I grew up poor. I know what it is like to be homeless and hungry. I know the pain of poverty. I also know that education and a mother’s love can be the path out of dire poverty. I know what it is like to see water fountains you are not allowed to drink out of because of your skin color," he wrote. "I also know that once you peal [sic] back the skin, the brain is the same no matter what your skin color or continent you live on. I know that victimhood is a trap. I know that it is our Christian responsibility to offer those less fortunate a hand up. I know my faith is strong and my ego is small."

He wrote that though he knows his path is different than most who seek the office, he offers "all of the pain and joy, the success and failure, the lessons learned through love and sorrow in my life’s journey."

"Bill Clinton was famous for saying 'I feel your pain' — well, I have walked in your shoes," Carson declared, going on to draw comparisons between his candidacies and those of his opponents.

"I have neither Donald Trump’s money or Jeb Bush’s political network. However, I wouldn't trade a single child I treated for all of Trump’s money," the retired pediatric neurosurgeon wrote. "While I admire the Bush family’s dedication to service, I too served — nights, weekends, holidays, birthdays and anniversaries with severely injured patients were my public service."

Instead of going to "embassy cocktail parties" or stooping to "beg lobbyists for money," Carson wrote that he "spent night after night in a quiet, sterile room trying to save the life of a small child. That was my life’s service. This is my life’s experience."

"What I have is a lifetime of caring, integrity and honesty. I have experienced the American Dream," he continued. "No where [sic] in the world, other than America, could a man whose ancestors were slaves, rise to become a leading brain surgeon and one day seek the Office of President."

He concluded his evening post with, "The very fact that I am running is testament to the greatness of America. If all you want is political experience then I cannot be your candidate. Thank you for staying up with me."