According to Carson and the accounts he provides in his memoirs, published and titled “Gifted Hands,” during his senior year of high school he met with General William Westmoreland and was eventually offered a full ride to attend West Point. His response to the humbling offer is documented in his book stating,
"I didn't refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know that a military career wasn't where I saw myself going […] As overjoyed as I felt to be offered such a scholarship, I wasn't really tempted.”A respectable and understandable answer for a young man who at the time, had his pick of the lot in regard to secondary institutions. Unfortunately, this seemingly harmless answer and mention of being awarded a scholarship of exceptional merit proved to be a complete sham. According to Carson’s campaign team, the GOP candidate can’t recall the specifics of the discussion he and Gen. Westmoreland had during their meeting, but it supposedly centered around Carson’s performance and track record as an ROTC City Executive Officer, rather than future plans for his attendance at West Point.
West Point official Theresa Brinkerhoff put another nail in this fact-or-myth coffin when she debunked the possibility of Carson having received admittance to the institution, let alone such a bountiful scholarship offer stating,
"If he chose to pursue (the application process) then we would have records indicating such.”In yet another effort to remove the proverbial foot from Carson’s mouth, his campaign manager, Barry Bennett released this statement,
"Carson said was he was offered a nomination for a scholarship. You know that's the first step and you got to be nominated in order to even be considered for military academy so that's the first step […] But when they told him that they would nominate him, he said he wasn't interested, he never applied. He never was accepted. He never turned down the offer.”The icing on the cake for this incriminating session of Ben Carson going down in a blaze of Ben Carson, came when he recounted his West Point story during an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS.
"I was offered a full scholarship to West Point, got to meet General Westmoreland, go to Congressional Medal of Honor dinners, but decided really my pathway would be medicine.”Again, the action in question is not whether or not Carson met with General Westmoreland or engaged in any related activities, but if Carson even applied to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, let alone was offered a scholarship.
While some may share the stance that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, I’d like to think that point would be considered heavily debatable, especially when considering the Doctor’s current situation. Having come under recent fire for alleged fabrication of stories during his youth and outlandishly stating that the Great Pyramids were constructed to house grain rather than a monument and resting place for Egyptian Pharaohs, this additional story questioning Carson’s character and ethical pedigree does not bode well in recovering his reputation. As for Carson’s thoughts on the matter, he offered CNN his two cents on the issue Friday stating,
"It's a bunch of lies. That's what it is […] A bunch of lies, attempting to say that I'm lying about my history. I think it's pathetic.”Despite the controversial surrounding Carson, he continues to pick up steam in the polls as he currently trends with GOP front runner Donald Trump. While his status in the polls currently appear healthy, he looks to be well on his way to receiving a terminal diagnosis for his campaign and nomination efforts.
Sources and Polls:
Ben Carson's campaign admits he never applied to West Point
2016 Republican Presidential Nomination
Great post. Your humor makes the usually ridiculous political horror show of campaigns enjoyable to read about. Ben Carson, like most politicians, seem to say what they think the public wants to hear. Wouldn't it be refreshing if they all realized we don't think they're really that important and awesome and what we really want to hear is just the truth?
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not a fan of Ben Carson, this is not a big deal in the scheme of rolling down the campaign road. Heck, the Democrats thought they had a "body slam" to George W's credentials with the alleged fabrication of his service history. The interest groups were able to shut that down and the same will happen with the Doc's stuff.
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