That whole Ben Carson/West Point thing
Politico published this story under this headline earlier today, calling Ben Carson a liar
The New York Times joined in;
Politico changed their headline after the internet beat the living crap out of their story
What happened was Carson wrote in his autobiography that he met some Medal of Honor recipients and General William Westmoreland when Carson was with his Junior ROTC unit in Detroit and there was a big parade and a dinner afterward. He says that he was offered an appointment to West Point with a full scholarship. From the Times
Mr. Carson has recounted the episode of being offered a scholarship at various points in telling his triumphant personal story. (Technically, West Point does not offer scholarships; it is free to attend.)
In his recent book, “You Have a Brain,” Mr. Carson described how he decided which college to attend: “I still had the scholarship offer from West Point as a result of my R.O.T.C. achievements.”
More recently, in a Facebook post in August responding to a question, he wrote that he had been “thrilled to get an offer from West Point.”
“But I knew medicine is what I wanted to do. So I applied to only one school. (it was all the money I had). I applied to Yale and thank God they accepted me. I often wonder what might have happened had they said no.”
Since Carson was one of the top students in the city-wide JROTC program, more than likely, folks at the parade and dinner tried to recruit Carson for West Point and in the mind of a high school student it was an “offer”, but, of course, since that’s all they have the media pounced on this, claiming that West Point doesn’t offer scholarships. Yeah, um actually they do – attendance at West Point doesn’t cost the students or their families anything, exactly like a scholarship. In their ads, they even call it a scholarship (thanks to Gabriel Malor for the below photo);
But the bottom line should be that Carson admits that he never applied to West Point, so he was never accepted, so what is the lie, exactly? A paragraph in a book? After all of the lies that we’ve been told in the last seven or eight years, this is the one the media wants to investigate? After the lies Bill Clinton told about dodging the draft when he was in college, they want to look into this story?
If this story was about another candidate of color eight years ago, someone would be called racist for even bringing it up – which is why the media has hardly glanced at the background of the current President.
Category: Politics
IAVA CEO Paul Reickhoff has pounced on this as well, which I find interesting given that Paul put forth the impression he was in a SOF unit even though he wasn’t. Kind of telling if you ask me, but then, that’s just me.
No shock there with that hypocrite shitbag. That turd shouldn’t say shit when his own background is questionable at best. Hey Rieckhoff, keep lining your pockets off the backs of veterans, you phony prick.
You are correct. It’s not totally “free” to attend USMA. Here’s a 2012 memo from the USMA Treasurer: http://www.usma.edu/parents/SiteAssets/SitePages/Resources/EXPENSES%20CLASS%202016%20memo.pdf
…of course, as that link notes, those fees are paid out of the SALARY you are paid just to attend the school! The USMA website’s FAQ says it’s more than $900/month to start, and that goes up every year.
I just realized I initially replied to the wrong post. Yes, there is cadet pay, but there is a $2,000 or so initial deposit required to get the account started. Some cadets who leave early still owe the government money.
I think they used scholarship in their ad cause they had limited space, it was pithy and understandable to all, and it was just the easy thing to do.
No one who attends the service academies pay for anything (except with their time at the end) so the dictionary definition of scholarship doesn’t fit here.
I seem to recall that there was a small outlay required of the cadet (something like $1-2000 in the beginning) when I applied to the USMA in 1988. Though I was too slow and too dumb to get in, I ran with my Plan B of getting a degree at a state-run university instead.
So it would be more accurate to say he was “invited to apply” but not “offered” anything.
Actually seems akin to some military fakers who say they were “recruited” by Delta or SF or the SEALS when in reality all they did was attend a briefing inviting them to apply. Big difference.
Whether or not the media treats Republican candidates different from Democrat candidates is irrelevant. It would be like a football player complaining about the temperature or a baseball player saying the sun got in your eyes.
Like it or not, that’s the way the ground lies. Play, don’t play, run, don’t run, but bitching about how “unfair” the media is just looks like whining to most of the electorate, fair or not.
I read this in the original, and I understood it clearly along the lines of my own experience, when somebody tried to recruit me to a doctoral program.
And, Dr. Carson phrased it in the same way that I would have.
As for the lying by Politico and the New York Times, this is indeed nothing new, and those sloppy outlets deserve to be corrected.
As I understand, politico changed their title for the story because it was a flat out falsification of the story. I know that’s a shock….
I call bullshit on your post Martinjmpr.
The electorate is not looking at his taking on the media as whining. Most of the electorate is just like me and about a million other Veteran’s and regular people that are sick and tired of the horseshit manner that they treat Conservative candidates.
The only reason they are going after him is because they consider him below their station and nothing but a house n*&^%$ for the GOP.
Why do you think Trump is doing as well as he is. We are all sick of it.
I heard his questioning some reporter about the fact that they are so worried about his statement here but nobody bothers at all to find out why Oblome’s educational record, birth records friends list, like Wright and the rest of the America haters and even old 60’s terrorists and bombers along with an assortment of god only knows who else he confides in.
No, American voters are smarter than you and the press give us credit for.
We are sick of people going around saying that they are offended, outraged and incredulous about stupid crap that these left wing fucks continually do to attract attention to themselves so they feel like they are actually smart and important instead of useless and a giant pain in the ass…
Yep, bullshit.
This couldn’t be any worse than his pyramids treatise.
What’s the big deal about that anyway? There’s lots of unanswered questions about the shit built by the Egyptians (and Mayans, and Sumerians…). It ain’t like he said they were built by aliens, or denied the Holocaust, or some shit.
Well, mainly because the ancient Egyptians themselves tell us that the pyramids are tombs. There is absolutely no doubt about that.
His theory is simply ridiculous.
My point being, who cares if he once suggested that the pyramids could have doubled as silos? It’s not like plenty of establishment politicians don’t have dumber ideas.
Why must an obviously brilliant man make such obviously false claims to support his faith?
How long until Lars shows up to call us all racists for not buying this story attacking a black candidate?
Dunno, TOW. This kind of incident puts libidiots like Taylor in one helluva bind.
On one hand, they reflexively support minorities NQA against “the Man” who’s “keeping them down”. But they also have a huge dislike for conservatives – and Carson’s quite conservative.
I’m looking forward to seeing libidiots spazzing out nationwide over this. A few heads might even explode. (smile)
I thought Lars was leaving and not coming back? I really have to read the comments more often.
He’s left in a huff, never to return, at least four times now.
Lars certainly is not a man of his word.
Just when you thought he’s out, he pulls himself back in. (Paraphrasing a line from “The Godfather Part III”)
They don’t consider him a minority because he’s got an (R) behind his name.
Y’all kinda sound like jocks in a locker room awaiting the arrival of the nerd that talked trash so they can “swirly” him a time or three!
We have become so used to the CNN et al favoring liberal causes that we think that such is the nature of things and there is something wrong with pointing it out.
It isn’t normal. It doesn’t have to be that way. It didn’t used to be that way. There is no reason today that the media cannot be neutral. Except that the new channels are now supposed to make money and if they just report the news, they make less money.
Any honest reporter would chide Dr. Carson for lazy wording and move on. There is no there there. Yet Politico and the New York Times are saying that he lied and that his campaign apologized or walked the story back. Neither happened and neither is necessary.
I don’t care about Carson but I do care about the facts. If I am a high school senior and I am offered a slot at a college with no cost – as far as I am concerned that is a scholarship. In my opinion Carson didn’t try to make himself look like a more important or worthy guy. That wasn’t what that paragraph in his book was about.
YMMV.
Exactly.
It wasn’t called the Communist News Network for nothing.
Though these days it is called the Clinton News Network.
I don’t like Carson, I think he is a clown and his candidacy is a farce.
That being said, when the book was written I am sure he had no designs on the Presidency, and he used a ghost writer. I would bet the writer helped him with making the book more readable…and at least he didn’t claim he had more military training than a lot of the guys in the military.
Yeah, i often find world renowned neurosurgeons to be clowns.
What a stupid comment
Oh yes, a typical clown, never mind that he is the leader of pediatric neurosurgery in the entire world and I am certain that John Hopkins Medical School hires all kinds of clowns to lead their efforts to help mankind through medical treatment and practice…
Truly a stupid comment and indicative of a deeper troubling condition…
Yeah, he was obviously a great surgeon…
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/04/ben-carson-was-sued-for-malpractice-at-least-eight-times.html
I would not trust him in the Oval Office any more than I would trust Trump in the operating room.
I would be more interested in how many of those malpractice suits were legally found in the plaintiff’s favor. Many doctors routinely get sued for malpractice, mostly due to the current legal climate of ‘disappointed? Fail? Screw up? SUE – it must be someone else’s fault.”
I’ve said it from the beginning Politico is a Mouth piece for the Left so no big surprise here
I have tremendous respect for Dr. Carson as a person.
I don’t believe him to be presidential material, but don’t see too many in this race who truly are.
That said, there was no lie, not even much embellishment.
He stated clearly that he considered a WP appointment, but was not willing to make a commitment to the Army, he really wanted to become a doctor.
He made the right choice.
For him, the Army, and a whole lot of kids.
Why has he mounted this campaign?
Maybe he really thinks, just like he did in medicine, he can make a difference.
Maybe, he really loves this country and thinks it worth saving.
Maybe that alone in these times, is enough.
This is crap it is a way for the left to keep the media off the classified email’s. Who gives a shit if he told a little lie everyone does that. But send national secrets over an UNCLASS system know one gives a shit it is a democrat who does it,and if an E3 does it BCD and 10-20 so WTF talk about that Politico
The pettiness of this shows how badly the left, (and some airheads on the right), want to be sure that someone other than Dr. Carson gets the Republican nomination. He is still my first choice for “first seat”.
Westmoreland was not in Detroit for the Memorial Day Parade. He was in DC that weekend:
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/06/carsons-westmoreland-story-match-records/75328960/
Here’s more from the liberal Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/ben-carsons-past-faces-deeper-questions-1446861864
Without reading the actual book, which I’m shocked, shocked I tell you that the media sources going after Carson haven’t actually quoted from. I can’t make a firm decision yet.
BUT
The general story I’m hearing is that he said he was offered West Point by several dignitaries who certainly could’ve put in the kind of words that would’ve grease the door hinges for him as long as he didn’t completely blow the application process. But he apparently said in the next few sentences, that he didn’t follow through and apply.
Did he mispeak on something military like most of the people out there who don’t know how the military works, very likely. But if the impression I have is correct, he didn’t lie.
Our old pal Master Bateman has joined the dog pile: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a39579/ben-carson-debunked-west-point/