1. It’s Monday, September 21, 2015.

2. I’ll write a separate post about my New York Mets. The last couple of days have been too bizarre to include with the general stuff.

3. You would think that a man who’s running for president, a distinguished neurosurgeon, has met one or two people of the Islamic faith. He gives speeches, he signs books, he’s worked in a hospital.

So you have to figure, even though Muslims make up only about 1% of the population, he’s met at least a dozen people who say they are followers of the prophet Muhammad.

But Ben Carson believes none of them, not one, should be allowed to seek the highest office in the land.

When asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if a president’s faith matters, he said” “I guess it depends on what that faith is,” he said. “If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter.”

And then, asked whether Islam is consistent with the Constitution, Carson said: “No, I don’t — I do not.”

What Constitution is Carson reading? Of what articles, what amendments does Islam fly in the face?

I am not anywhere near as well traveled or a public figure as Dr. Ben Carson. But I’ve met people of the Islamic faith. I’ve worked with them and I’ve lived in a neighborhood with them. I had a devoutly Muslim landlord. Some were born in the USA, and some weren’t.

And of those born in this country, I have little doubt that if they were handed the awesome responsibility of the presidency, their first priority would be the safety and prosperity of their fellow Americans. That would include protecting this country from nut cases —whatever their professed faith, or lack thereof.

In light of his comments, that’s more than we can say about Ben Carson. He might be a man with a lot of degrees. But his comments on a Muslim president show he’s not really that smart. And he’s not particularly attuned to the people he encounters. Because I guarantee he’s met more than a few Muslims, and he dissed them for no good reason. (For a good take on this, here’s Ta-Nehisi Coates’ terrific note for The Atlantic)