Ben Carson speaks with a quiet air of understated authority. This is perfect for the high-stakes setting of a 10-hour brain surgery, where a cool head and clear commands are the order of the day. It's less than perfect for the febrile world of partisan politics, as he discovered during the boisterous Republican primary of 2016, and definitely unsuited to the background music piped into a Washington hotel lounge where listeners have to lean in to hear his carefully chosen words. Until, that is, he starts talking about how the Democrats are putting race and racism at the heart of their 2020 election campaign. Claims that America is foundationally racist and that African Americans can be free only if they are paid reparations for slavery bring forth a loud, uninhibited guffaw. “It’s ridiculous,” he splutters once the laughing fit has subsided. “You know, this is a country where people can come from virtually any socioeconomic level and rise to the top more easily than they can anyplace else … regardless of race. “So does that mean there are some people who aren’t afflicted by racism? No, it doesn’t mean that at all, but it does mean that racism is not something that can stop you unless you want it to.” He should know. This is the man whose rags-to-riches story was turned into a TV movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr. He credits the “stand on...