What it should tell you is that Carson as a teenager understood his conversations with those offering to nominate him to mean that the full ride is a scholarship for all intents and purposes. Why would anyone unfamiliar with service academies use the word “appointment?” To them, it is a scholarship. Carson didn’t want to attent WP. So he never applied and had no reason to understand the distinction.
Same as clip versus magazine. A technical distinction that is important only to those who really care. I expect those who are ignorant about the differences to use the two interchangeably and I’m not going to burn them down for doing so.
If he never “applied”, how did he have a “scholarship” offered to him? You do realize that West Point doesn’t go around offering appointments to teenagers that a) don’t apply, and b) don’t apply through a Congressional office, right?
And they admitted it was a fabrication. Why the gymnastics to excuse this?
Especially if he had “assistance” writing his popular books. He may have recalled and used the right language, but his “assistant” might not have transcribed the words correctly.