[It degenerated down to playing with words - that West Point only has appointments, not scholarships, as if calling it a scholarship was damning, somehow making Carson a confabulator.]
Dr. Carson, like Herman Cain, represents a profound threat to the Democrats. As a black, successful conservative and Republican, Carson stands as a role model who could persuade some blacks to consider switching parties and ideologies. That’s why it was imperative to mount a covert campaign against Cain, not just to lower his numbers but to destroy him. Even if Carson does not win the nomination he will remain in the public eye as proof that a poor black man does not need the Democrats to succeed. The Democrats are desperate to ruin him.
And IIRC the allegations regarding Cain were entirely false. He should have stuck with his campaign!