It could have been his undoing, but if anything, Tuesday night's Republican primary debate did little to shake Ben Carson's newly-found place atop the GOP field.
The retired neurosurgeon took the stage after a string of news reports intensely focused on his biography, including whether he was offered a scholarship to attend West Point, and what courses he took while at Yale University.
But those questions only warranted a brief exchange early in the debate in which Carson launched a forceful broadside against the reporters that have been putting his past in the spotlight.
"I have no problem with being vetted," Carson said. "What I do have a problem with is being lied about."
None of his rivals pounced on the issue.
It was surprising since Donald Trump, a rival for the nomination, in the days leading up to the debate had attacked Carson on stories about Carson's past
"This is a strange election, isn't it?" Trump said at a rally in Springfield, Ill., on Monday. "If you try and hit your mother over the head with a hammer, your poll numbers go up."
During Tuesday's debate, Carson said, among other things, that the number of jobless Americans increases each time the U.S. raises the minimum wage; that he would make ISIS "look like losers" by "destroying their caliphate" and that he supported President Obama's decision to send several dozen Special Operations troops into Syria.
While Carson's comments -- particularly on Syria -- put him in direct opposition with several of his rivals on stage, you wouldn't know it. For all the times the candidates drew distinctions among each other, none attacked Carson, who -- depending on the poll -- is in first or second place.
We've seen lots of sparring, but no one seems to want to go after Ben Carson.— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) November 11, 2015
NO ONE ATTACKED BEN CARSON TONIGHT.— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) November 11, 2015
Carson, by any measure, was not a dominant force on the debate stage. He didn't generate any headline-making moments nor did he land any forceful jabs on his rivals.
But with no more Republican debates for five weeks and Carson's fundraising bolstered by what his supporters see as a media witch-hunt, Carson is likely exactly where he wants to be.