Carson leaps over the line with his Islam comment

Look, I'm not a total naïf. I know the race for the Republican nomination means garnering support from your base, the different clans who will decide which of the hopefuls becomes the candidate.

And one of those groupings is the evangelical wing - a deeply conservative grouping that will play such an important role in Iowa, the first state to vote in February next year - and therefore disproportionately important. So you are going to say things this Christian community in the Midwest state wants to hear. You are going to do things that are none too subtle. You might even do a bit of pandering to them.

Donald Trump went on stage this weekend clutching the bible his mother had given him. It was a new prop for him to use. That's politics. You do what you need to do. But equally there are lines you just do not cross. And in the past two days, two of the Republican hopefuls, it seems, have done just that - one stumbled across the line, the other leapt across it so egregiously that it is causing reverberations.

The slight trip across the line came from the aforementioned Mr Trump who failed to correct a questioner who alleged that Obama wasn't American, wasn't a Christian - but was a Muslim. Mr Trump, under fire, countered that it wasn't up to him - he had no moral responsibility to stand up for the president. OK, but you can correct a downright lie. No?

The full scale leap across the line that would have made an Olympic long jumper proud came from the mild-mannered, hitherto Mr Nice of this race, Dr Ben Carson. He was asked on Meet the Press whether his faith should matter. If you haven't heard it I am going to reprint here the full exchange with Chuck Todd the interviewer, just so you can see that the comments aren't being taken out of context.

TODD: Should a president's faith matter? Should it matter to voters?

CARSON: I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America. And of course, if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.

TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?

CARSON: No, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.

And just so we can deal with the substantive point that Dr Carson raises, let us just detain ourselves for a moment longer on what is and what is not constitutional. Article 6 is just about as explicit a statement as you're ever going to find: no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Ramadan prayers in East Harlem, New York

I don't know whether Dr Carson's words will bolster his position among the base after a somewhat lacklustre performance in the Republican debate last week at the Ronald Reagan Library - but what about the feelings of the three million Muslims who live in America? How is it going to feel to have a serious political figure, someone who aspires to lead this nation, essentially saying being Muslim is un-American?

These people who day in, day out serve their communities, support their families, enrich the lives of fellow citizens and make America the successful melting pot that it is. Kids who recite the pledge of allegiance in the morning at their schools and go to their mosque or church or synagogue in the evening at the weekend? Isn't that what America is all about? Which bit of "one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" doesn't Dr Carson get?

Major research

Indeed, how different are Dr Carson's comments from previous generations of bigots, racists and apologists who would say there could never be an African-American as president, or Catholic, or any other minority you could single out.

It is worth looking back at the major piece of work that the Republican leadership undertook after the party's defeat in the 2012 general election, and the reasons why people had shunned it. One of the conclusions of this major piece of research, called the Growth and Opportunity Project, was as follows:

"Public perception of the Party is at record lows. Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the Party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us."

I was in California for the second Republican debate last week, and to be honest I thought Dr Ben Carson was sailing in a bit of an empty vessel. I couldn't remember anything noteworthy that he had said. Well, we now see that there is something in that vessel, aside from him. And it is not very pleasant. It will be interesting to watch how much pressure there'll be for him to walk the plank, or chart a very different course.