Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied

originally posted by: ketsuko
According to media standards, I've applied to, been accepted by and gone to West Point too. Why? Because a college recruiter from there called me and said based on my athletic performance, academic performance and test scores (ACT, SAT), if I wanted to apply, they would help try to make sure I got accepted and were pretty sure it would happen.

This is pretty much what Carson claimed, minus the athletic bit, add high ROTC performance.

What was made up by Politico was made up. Period.

Did you write that you were offered a scholarship five times (in one paragraph) in your autobiography (ghostwritten) that West Point offered you a scholarship?

Have you stated that you were offered a scholarship in recorded interviews?

If not, not the same thing.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
Something isn't right about all of this. I can't believe the Democrats and liberal-media-attack dogs are somehow finding all of this just now on their own. Something smells... Something smells....

I have this "gut" feeling that the GOP itself is sacrificing Carson not only to thin the herd, but to also make the rest of the candidates look more moderate and less extreme by comparison. It seems like a tipping point was reached, and a decision made to cut Carson loose from the ranks.

I don't think Carson specifically was planned to fill this role, but as the campaigns wore on he presented himself as the easiest candidate to do this with. Trump would fight back way to hard and just make himself look better by comparison.

Even with the Democrats tried to destroy Palin they didn't come out with so many stories in such rapid-fire succession as this. It's almost like he's being totally scuttled as quickly and loudly as possible.

It's entirely true that campaigns sit on good oppo for months. A year even. Only to unveil it at a time of their choosing.

I guarantee you that the Clinton campaign has great oppo on Trump. No reason to use it now. It will be there when they and if they need it.

Carson was topping polls all over the place. So it's his time in the barrell. And it's very likely some of these Carson stories have come from campaign oppo.

This isn't a conspiracy theory. It's just how this stuff works.

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: MotherMayEye

What we can count on is for politicians to be politicians, for the media to lie about it, and for us here to argue incessantly.

Can you objectively state that the various right-wing media have not misrepresented their opponents and coddled their "friends"?

I cannot.

Absolutely not. FOX News does conservatives a huge disservice in their reporting and if I were a conservative, I would want to disassociate from them completely.

But in this instance, it wasn't FOX but Politico doing the smearing. How you get from being told that if you wanted to apply you would probably be accepted to telling everyone you did apply and were accepted is beyond me, but that's what the Politico writer did.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: MotherMayEye

What we can count on is for politicians to be politicians, for the media to lie about it, and for us here to argue incessantly.

Can you objectively state that the various right-wing media have not misrepresented their opponents and coddled their "friends"?

I cannot.

Absolutely not. FOX News does conservatives a huge disservice in their reporting and if I were a conservative, I would want to disassociate from them completely.

But in this instance, it wasn't FOX but Politico doing the smearing. How you get from being told that if you wanted to apply you would probably be accepted to telling everyone you did apply and were accepted is beyond me, but that's what the Politico writer did.

I haven't been to Politico since probably 2010.

Coincidentally, they refused to report on Larry Sinclair's story because, well, it was unsubstantiated and they have integrity, doncha know:

"Politico isn't reprinting Sinclair's allegations because they are unsubstantiated."

Politico


EDIT: Now I haven't been to Politico since just a few minutes ago.

a reply to: Moresby

I think that the Clintons and Trump are in cahoots. Five people don't just happen to contact the Washington Post in August about a conversation in May...it's just not plausible. Bill and Donald sanctioned this story...they are up to something:

Former president Bill Clinton had a private telephone conversation in late spring with Donald Trump at the same time that the billionaire investor and reality-television star was nearing a decision to run for the White House, according to associates of both men.

Four Trump allies and one Clinton associate familiar with the exchange said that Clinton encouraged Trump’s efforts to play a larger role in the Republican Party and offered his own views of the political landscape.

Link

(EDIT: This is a conspiracy theory.)

a reply to: MotherMayEye

Well, that makes a lot more sense to me personally than that Dr. Carson doesn't know what the word scholarship means.

a reply to: Gryphon66

Doesn't matter. It's the same thing. And if fact, it's true. I didn't take them up on it, but they made the same offer to a male teammate of mine who had similar performance levels and similar academics and test scores. Sure enough. He got in.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Gryphon66

Doesn't matter. It's the same thing. And if fact, it's true. I didn't take them up on it, but they made the same offer to a male teammate of mine who had similar performance levels and similar academics and test scores. Sure enough. He got in.

Nope, not the same thing. A scholarship is not an official Appointment. Especially to military personnel.

Sorry you didn't get to go to West Point, if you wanted to. Was it hard to get your letter?

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: MotherMayEye

Well, that makes a lot more sense to me personally than that Dr. Carson doesn't know what the word scholarship means.

It reeks of being planted as part of some strategy, to me. I don't mean to undermine my point with "conspiracy theory," but there's a lot at stake and I am sure a lot of strategizing has gone into what we are seeing.

originally posted by: MotherMayEye

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: MotherMayEye

Well, that makes a lot more sense to me personally than that Dr. Carson doesn't know what the word scholarship means.

It reeks of being planted as part of some strategy, to me. I don't mean to undermine my point with "conspiracy theory," but there's a lot at stake and I am sure a lot of strategizing has gone into what we are seeing.

Absolutely no doubt on that observation.

I will state something I've seen though ... either they're getting really sloppy, or they just don't care if we notice.

originally posted by: Gryphon66
Nope, not the same thing. A scholarship is not an official Appointment. Especially to military personnel.

That could be part of the confusion. Carson has never been "Military personnel." JROTC does not make someone military personnel, nor is it all that different from any other extracurricular HS activity. When I took my ACT test my Junior year, I received a number of pre-approvals from SW colleges with engineering programs, I also had military recruitment calls nightly and mailings from the same. I highly doubt those schools or recruiters kept my information for long after realizing I was going elsewhere, and I'd bet that was especially true in Carson's day before computers and economical record storage was available.

One thing that I think is missed here is the era combined with what we know was taking place back then makes it very possible that a general told him "I can see to it that you're in and paid for, just let me know." The era was full of quid-pro-quo military program placements, especially on the heels of powerful US political and business families pulling strings to see to it their sons were assigned "safe" National Guard positions. I'm also pretty sure that a lot of generals at a lot of banquets told young people who impressed them in some way "Tell them I'm your advocate and we will make this happen." I know when I was 17, someone saying that to me would have created very much a mental model of "I just got into West Point and it is paid for." We know he was at the banquet, we know the general was there, and we know they had a discussion... we have no reason to call this a "fabrication."

Btw, Politico has altered their headline.

If the case for Carson lying were as strong as all that, you'd think they'd be sticking by their guns. Apparently ... not so much. Seems they played fast and loose with language on an ambiguous statement and their change of headlines shows as much.

a reply to: ketsuko

Manufactured, manipulated outrage...

imo. It's not that imp. that he lied and or embellished the truth about his west point scholorship... The fact remains that Carson tried to hit his mother with a hammer over a pair of pants. It's in his book....and tried to stab a kid.

How in the name of all that's holy can you rationalize or trust someone that tried to hit their mother with a hammer. That's just not cool. I don't care if your are black, white, wrinkled or over 4 years old you should know right from wrong, when it comes to hitting your mother. Apparently Carson has some serious issues. Has he been in therapy? I hope so...

Someone that tried to hit their mother with a hammer wouldn't have any trouble telling lies.

I just want to get it out there that a few semantic errors in a book about an event that happened, what, 30 years ago matter little to me...the same with Obama saying, "57 states".

Does something like this make a person any less capable of being a president? Honestly, no -- and I'm actually a bit annoyed and embarrassed by progressives seizing on it when there are plenty of other "meatier" issues.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Btw, Politico has altered their headline.

If the case for Carson lying were as strong as all that, you'd think they'd be sticking by their guns. Apparently ... not so much. Seems they played fast and loose with language on an ambiguous statement and their change of headlines shows as much.

Seems that somebody in the Carson campaign decided it was time to play semantics games because that if they could fire back with ANYTHING no matter how specious his willfully ignorant supporters would go into full fingers-in-the-ears-chanting-na-na-na-na-na-na-na mode.

Did he or did he not meet Westmoreland and was he or was he not offered admittance into West Point?

Also as for him "ripping" CNN, I happened to be awake programming when he was doing his best impression of what Donald Trump might sound like whining about the media if he was on Xanax. Hot Air may just be the most appropriate name ever.

I'm sorry, but saying this outta one side of your mouth:

originally posted by: burdman30ott6
I believe in personal responsibility. I do not believe in forcing people to take responsibility for strangers, society, or anyone else they're not either related to or contractually bound to. I believe in individualism and connection to your own.

When you say this outta the other:

originally posted by: burdman30ott6
It's the liberal media repeating what they did 4 years ago to Herman Cane. An African American CANNOT be allowed to succeed on a GOP ticket because it violates the media's fabricated narrative of a party of racists. God help anyone who tries to prove the liberal media is full of snip up to their eyeballs.

...Is hilarious. He's getting thrashed because either HE PERSONALLY or HIS GHOST WRITER screwed up badly. It has nothing to do with "liberal media."

Do you not see the hypocrisy between your beliefs and lament?

Pull up those bootstraps and shout to the world that you'll come out on top. Crying about the "liberal media" is the most pathetic thing I can think of.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
The conservative axiom and creed of self-sufficiency and responsibility to improve one's situation themselves doesn't seem to apply to their problems with media exposure.

It seems that way, but it isn't exactly that... it doesn't apply when it applies to them period. Trump has been through bankruptcy, but you don't see conservatives complaining about it. Instead, you see them complaining about welfare.

What we see in this thread is crying about someone getting caught screwing up and immediately deflecting to oh woe the liberal media. Personal responsibility doesn't apply when it's someone on your team, I guess.

You know, like how Bush let 9/11 happen - you see people call back to Clinton and say it's his fault, even though Bush had been in office for 9 months. Republicans lost 2008 and 2012, but try to blame it on someone else. The financial crash happened in 2008, but people still keep saying Obama caused it - before he was even elected!

Team dynamics are a frightening thing.

a reply to: olaru12

Then why do we have a legal system that applies anything other than life in prison (or execution) for all violent crime? Why do we have a system that (usually) charges those under the age of 16 completely differently than those over 16? Kids make bad decisions, especially where issues of anger and frustration are mixed with the hormones of early teens. Ever get into a fistfight in school? How many have you gotten into as an adult? People grow up, mature, change, find God, etc... if you believe the person someone is today should be punished for the *thoughts* they had 50 years ago, you must be scared to death of everyone you meet.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Btw, Politico has altered their headline.

If the case for Carson lying were as strong as all that, you'd think they'd be sticking by their guns. Apparently ... not so much. Seems they played fast and loose with language on an ambiguous statement and their change of headlines shows as much.

Aint that something.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

I was referring to those who offered Dr. Carson his "scholarship."

Who can say what was said or what was thought in something unrecorded in the past?

I cannot, and haven't. I have only noted, that Dr. Carson used the word in his book and in interviews.