Don G. Dinsdale Loc: El Cajon, CA (San Diego County)

NEWSMAX

CNN: Politico's Carson Story 'Not Accurate on Key Points'

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Saturday, 07 Nov 2015


Politico was not "accurate on key points" in its controversial story about leading GOP p**********l candidate Ben Carson's West Point claims, CNN reports.

The CNN report, by former Politico media reporter Dylan Byers, pulled apart the initial article, saying that Politico was not only inaccurate about what Carson claimed about West Point, but also about his claim that he met and had dinner with Gen. William Westmoreland, who directed military strategy during the Vietnam War.

Politico added a note after publishing its article, saying it stands by the story, and also removed language saying the GOP candidate "fabricated" his version of the decades-ago events. It also toned down several other items after the story was initially posted, including the headline. The first headline, "Exclusive: Ben Carson Admits Fabricating West Point Scholarship," was changed to "Exclusive: Carson Claimed West Point 'Scholarship' But Never Applied."

The first headline drew outcry from Carson business manager Armstrong Williams, who complained to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday that "it's clear that what the Politico writer, with what he was trying to gain with the headline, did not substantiate it with his article."

But the headline wasn't the only thing all that drew complaints from the campaign and scrutiny from CNN. Byers' article also said Politico asserted that Carson's campaign admitted "that a central point in his inspirational personal story was fabricated: his application and acceptance into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point," while not providing any evidence that Carson ever said he'd applied to West Point.

The Politico story did say that Carson has said several times he was offered a "full scholarship" to the military academy, a claim he made in his autobiography "Gifted Hands."

On Friday, the retired neurosurgeon told The New York Times that he was never offered the full scholarship, but instead was given an informal offer to go to school there.

The Politico story also says West Point does not have a record of Carson applying, but West Point officials told CNN Friday that it does not keep records from applications from decades ago, and there was no way to find out if Carson was offered an appointment because he did not attend.

The CNN article also Politico to task for trying undermine Carson's claim that he met Westmoreland.

Carson claimed in his book that he had been introduced to Westmoreland on Memorial Day when he was a senior in high school, and had had dinner with the general and several Congressional Medal winners.

But Politico reported that the general's records suggest he was in Washington on Memorial Day 1969, rather than in Detroit having dinner with Carson. However, the Politico piece noted that Westmoreland did attend a banquet in Detroit in February of that year, and Carson, as a ROTC leader, might have been invited.

According to an editor's note added to the Carson story, Politico said it stands behind the story and has updated it to reflect Carson's response.

"Carson said he received a "full scholarship" from West Point, in writing and in public appearances over the years — but in fact he did not and there is actually no such thing as a 'full scholarship' to the taxpayer-funded academy," the note said.

"And today in response to Politico he acknowledged for the first time that was not the case. Carson never explicitly wrote that he had applied for admission to West Point, although that was the clear implication of his claim to have received an offer of a "full scholarship," a point that Politico’s initial report should have made clear."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/politico-carson-cnn-key/2015/11/07/id/701045/#ixzz3qqd690VE



Carson: I Could Have Been Clearer on West Point Narrative

By Bill Hoffmann | Friday, 06 Nov 2015


Republican p**********l candidate Ben Carson said on Friday he could have been clearer in his autobiography when he described receiving a scholarship from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Carson's account of being offered a full scholarship to the prestigious academy was called into question after his campaign acknowledged he had never even applied to the school.

"I guess it could have been more clarified," Carson told Fox News in an interview. "I mean that was the way it was presented to me. I understand the way West Point works is through a different mechanism, but that's the way it was presented to me, and you know I'm thinking of something that happened almost a half century ago."

Politico reported that Carson fabricated a key part of his life story in his best-selling memoir, "Gifted Hands."

Later, Carson spoke out about the story, prompting some updates to Politico's narrative and a change in headline. The site included an editor's note saying the news outlet stood by the story.

"POLITICO stands by its reporting on this story, which has been updated to reflect Ben Carson’s on the record response," the site noted. "The original story and headline said that Carson’s campaign had admitted he 'fabricated' a 'full scholarship' from West Point, but now Carson denies that his campaign’s statement constituted such an admission, and the story and headline were changed to reflect that."

In the 1996 book, the retired pediatric neurosurgeon boasts of a 1969 meeting with Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded American troops in Vietnam, after which Carson writes he was offered a "full scholarship" to the West Point military academy.

Politico quoted Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett on the issue, writing that the campaign "conceded" he had never applied.

"Dr. Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit," Bennett wrote in an email to Politico, which had questioned the story.

"In that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can't remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson's performance as ROTC City Executive Officer.

"He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it, but in the end did not seek admission."

The Carson campaign is furious at what it says is Politico's taking a spokesman's explanation meant to back the candidate's account of events and portraying it as some kind of confession.

"In the story itself, the campaign does not say Dr. Carson applied to West Point," Carson friend and adviser Armstrong Williams told The Washington Post. "Dr. Carson boasts about his scores in ROTC.

Westmoreland encourages him to apply. As Dr. Carson says, they were impressed by his scores, but he never applied.

"They said to him, we could get you in. This guy got into Yale -- obviously he could have got in. The headline was a fabrication."

Politico says when it asked West Point about the matter, the academy responded: "In 1969, those who would have completed the entire process would have received their acceptance letters from the Army Adjutant General."

But spokeswoman Theresa Brinkerhoff added West Point has no records showing Carson began the application process.

"If he chose to pursue [applying to West Point], then we would have records indicating such," she said.

The fabrication scandal comes in the wake of Carson's tirade against CNN's investigation into his background as a "bunch of lies."

The cable news network said it could not corroborate Carson's accounts of his "violent past and descriptions of the healing powers of his faith."

But Carson shot back: "This is a bunch of lies attempting to say I'm lying about my history, I think it's pathetic, and basically what the media does is they try to get you distracted."

At a news conference Friday, Carson excoriated the media for having "a desperation … to try to find a way to tarnish me."

"They have been talking to everybody I've ever known, everybody I've ever seen," Carson told reporters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

"There's got to be a scandal. "There's got to be some nurse he's having an affair with. There's got to be something. They are getting desperate."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ben-carson-backtracks-west-point-scholarship/2015/11/06/id/700931/#ixzz3qqeMJRQt



Rush Limbaugh: Politico's Carson West Point Story an 'Electronic Lynching'

By Cathy Burke | Friday, 06 Nov 2015

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/rush-limbaugh-politico-article-ben-carson/2015/11/06/id/701002/#ixzz3qqfNf97N

DamnYANKEE

Hmmmm . Where oh WHERE are ALL those A.M. LIBTURDS that Spewed LIES , about Carson being a Liar !!! ??? Guess Their BULLS**T STORY went Up in Smoke . :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

I am not a Liberal, but I spoke out this morning about this issue and I think that it needs further investigation. In fact, I think that the lives and utterances of all the potential candidates need to be completely scrutinized. For years we have not done enough to investigate the past of potential leaders and have wound up with lawyers that argue semantics and when pressed each and every one claim faulty memories. This is convenient because no one can say exactly what a person remembers. In the case of Carson, well his memory was very good at Liberty University when he recounted his past, and again at last month in an interview with Charlie Rose where he clearly said he was given a full scholarship. Look it up, 9 Oct 2015; "Carson: ...it worked, I did it. 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." A quote from Gifted Hands "“I felt so proud, my chest bursting with ribbons and braids of every kind. To make it more wonderful, we had important visitors that day. Two soldiers who had won the Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam were present,” "More exciting to me, General William Westmoreland (very prominent in the Vietnam war) attended with an impressive entourage. Afterward, Sgt. Hunt” (his high school ROTC director) “introduced me to General Westmoreland, and I had dinner with him and the Congressional Medal winners. Later I was offered a full scholarship to West Point.” So there is little doubt that he wrote about West Point and has used this as part of his rags to riches, from an angry black student at the bottom of his class to rise to graduating 3rd among his peers. This coupled with several of his other stories, like robbing a Popeye restaurant (no police record or anyone who collaborates the story), his attempt to k**l his friend.....and threatening his mother with a hammer... seems q***r to me. So which is bull? Carson's handlers now say that he never applied to West Point and it is all a misunderstanding, but how can it be a misunderstanding when Carson keeps (or kept) repeating the same story? He rose to prominence party because of his life story...if his life story was part of a vivid imagination.... or he now can not remember....

But, does this necessarily make him a bad choice for president? Will he recover from this, my guess is probably because there are enough people that will not look up what he said and just listen to his supporters and small excerpts from his speeches.

Of special note, if you are going to YouTube to see his interviews..... most have been taken down. But, one is still up.... http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60631575 and I encourage everyone to look at each person you are considering putting into the WH. Regardless of what the media paints, you have a mind and a good brain, investigate and ask the questions and don't stop until you are satisfied that you are entrusting our Nation to someone with integrity, that is an American who will be a president for all of our citizens.

PeterS

The best kinds of lies are the ones no one can verify. Uncle Ben seems to have that one covered like a tee...

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Actually no, he does not have it covered. See link in my last post.

Don G. Dinsdale Loc: El Cajon, CA (San Diego County)

Let me help:Of special note, if you are going to YouTube to see his interviews..... most have been taken down. But, one is still up.... http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60631575 and I encourage everyone to look at each person you are considering putting into the WH. Regardless of what the media paints, you have a mind and a good brain, investigate and ask the questions and don't stop until you are satisfied that you are entrusting our Nation to someone with integrity, that is an American who will be a president for all of our citizens. "BS"
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