Rich Lowry: Ben Carson, a Superior Outsider

While Jeb Bush feuds with Donald Trump and others kowtow to him, only one candidate is seriously gaining on him.

Ben Carson is now tied with Trump in one Iowa poll and is close in others. His rise suggests that it's possible to catch the populist wave roiling Republican politics and yet not be an obnoxious braggart. Ben Carson is a superior outsider to Donald Trump.

He is more gentlemanly and more conservative, with a more compelling life story. He is a man of faith who, despite his manifest accomplishments, has a quiet dignity and winsome modesty about him. Ben Carson is a throwback, whereas...