Ben Carson‘s appeal — he’s now leading the Republican presidential field in some national polls and in Iowa — escapes a lot of people in the media, including me.

Watching his performance in the first three GOP debates, so far, his main selling point seems to be: A stranger you might feel okay sharing your ferris wheel cart with.

But I picked up a magazine today and saw a quote by Carson that demonstrates at least partially why conservatives like him. It’s from a speech he gave in New Hampshire over the summer:

“We are falling for garbage. We are allowing ourselves to be colluded. You can’t just go through life worried about who’s on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ What are you willing to fight for? What are you willing to die for?”

That’s how at least half the country feels about their state of affairs right now and for the last several years. They feel they’ve been had by their own government and that it’s time to go on the offensive about it.

No other candidate has come even close to articulating things so eloquently. Can anyone see Jeb Bush saying that?

Details, policies and specifics aren’t there for Carson and, for now, they don’t matter to the people who like him.

It’s his message. That it comes from a gentle, world famous genius — “Finally,” conservatives say to themselves, “We’ve got one on our side! And he’s black!” — only helps.