As a 17-year old kid Dr. Carson can be forgiven for confusing “scholarship” with “appointment”. It’s totally believable that General Westmoreland would have offered his endorsement of Ben Carson through an appointment to West Point (a necessary but not sufficient part of the nomination process).
And yes, Politico can go to hell.
Westmoreland just happens to be dead so that story cant be verified and lying Ben can say whatever he feels like saying.