Ben Carson in CNN 2015 GOP primary debate

On Energy & Oil: Smart way in Mideast is to declare energy independence

I said, "You can do the same kind of thing. Declare that within five to 10 years we will become petroleum independent." The moderate Arab states would have been so concerned about that, they would have turned over Osama bin Laden and anybody else you wanted on a silver platter within two weeks.

There are smart ways to do things and there are muscular ways to do things. And sometimes you have to look at both of those to come up with the right solution.

On Families & Children: I'm a pediatrician and concerned about children's future

On Health Care: Vaccines never caused autism; vaccination is important

CARSON: Numerous studies have not demonstrated any correlation between vaccinations and autism. This was something that was spread widely 15 or 20 years ago, and it has not been adequately revealed to the public what's actually going on. Vaccines are very important. Certain ones. The ones that would prevent death or crippling. There are a multitude of vaccines which probably don't fit in that category, and there should be some discretion in those cases. But, you know, a lot of this is pushed by big government.

Q: Should Trump stop saying that vaccines cause autism?

CARSON: Well, I think he's an intelligent man and will make the correct decision after getting the real facts.

TRUMP: Autism has become an epidemic. I am totally in favor of vaccines. But I want smaller doses over a longer period of time.

On Homeland Security: Use intellect instead of aggression in some circumstances

CHRISTIE: While that may be a fine idea, with [Al Qaeda on 9/11], these people were out to kill us.

CARSON: There is no question that a lot of these problems that we have been talking about in terms of the international situation is because we are weak. It is because our Navy is so small. It is because our Air Force is incapable of doing the same things that it did a few years ago. It's because our Marines Corps is not ready to be deployed. There are a lot of problems that are going on, and we need to solve those problems, we need to build up our military.

RUBIO: But radical terrorism cannot be solved by intellect.

On Immigration: Turn off the spigots, then allow agricultural guest workers

CARSON: Not exactly what I said.

I was just reading the Wall Street Journal quote, but please tell us.

CARSON: After we seal the borders, after we turn off the spigot that dispenses all the goodies so we don't have people coming in here, including employment, that people who had a pristine record, we should consider allowing them to become guest workers, primarily in the agricultural sphere, because that's the place where Americans don't seem to want to work. And they have a six-month period to do that. If they don't do it within that time period, then they become illegal, and as illegals, they will be treated as such.

Q [to Cruz]: Does that fit your definition of amnesty?

CRUZ: I like and respect Ben Carson. I'll let him talk about his own plans.

On Immigration: We have the ability to build a border wall, but not the will

On Jobs: Minimum wage should probably be raised; then index it

CARSON: Let me say what I actually said about raising the minimum wage. I was asked should it be raised, I said, probably, or possibly. But, what I added--which I think is the most important thing--I said we need to get both sides of this issue to sit down, and talk about it. Negotiate a reasonable minimum wage, and index that so that we never have to have this conversation again in the history of America. I think we also have to have two minimum wages, a "starter," and a "sustaining" because how are young people ever going to get a job if you have such a high minimum wage that it makes it impractical to hire them?

Q [to Walker]: You have called raising the minimum wage a "lame idea"?

WALKER: I don't want to argue about how low things are going to be, I want to talk about how do we lift everyone up in America. That's what we've done in Wisconsin, that's exactly what we'd do federally.

On Principles & Values: I was a radical Democrat but then I listened to Reagan

I see us allowing people to divide us, when in fact our strength is in our unity. I see people exercising the most irresponsible fiscal habits that anyone could possibly do. And hiding it from the American people, so that the majority of people have no idea what our financial situation is.

So, when someone comes along and says, "free college, free phones," free this and that, they say, "wow, that's nice," having no idea that they're destabilizing our position.

Reagan was also a master at understanding that a pinnacle nation has to be a nation that leads. If we learn to lead in the Middle East right now, a coalition will form behind us, but never they do it if we just sit there and talk about it. Real leadership is what I would hopefully bring to America.

On Principles & Values: I will not lick the boots of billionaires

On Tax Reform: Progressive taxation on the rich--that's socialism

CARSON: It's all about America. You know, the people who say "the guy who paid $1 billion because he had $10 billion, he has still got $9 billion left, that's not fair, we need to take more of his money." That's called socialism. That doesn't work so well. What made America into a great nation was the fact that we said, that guy just put in $1 billion, let's create an environment that's even more conducive to his success so that next year he can put in $2 billion. And that's the kind of thing that helps us to grow. We can't grow by continuing to take a piece of pie, and dividing it, and redistributing it.

Q: Do you support the FairTax, like Governor Huckabee?

CARSON: I'm evaluating the FairTax, and I'm talking to the American people.

On War & Peace: I opposed war in Iraq in 2003; then I opposed withdrawal

PAUL: I've made my career as being an opponent of the Iraq War.

CARSON: When the issue occurred in 2003, I suggested to President Bush that he not go to war. So I just want that on the record. And, you know, a lot of people are very much against us getting involved right now with global jihadism. And they refer back to our invasion of Iraq. And they seem to think that that was what caused it. What caused it was withdrawing from there and creating a vacuum which allowed this terrible situation to occur. But it is very different from what is going on today. We're talking about global jihadists who actually want to destroy us. They are an existential threat to our nation. Our children will have no future if we put our heads in the sand.