<p>Apparently, the process works differently in your state than mine. The senators and representatives always ‘over nominate’ - like over-booking. Just because you get a nomination does not mean you get an appointment. However, from what I understand, a presidential nomination or something called a ‘superintendent’s nomination’ takes priority over senator and representative’s nominations. It is not as cut and dried or ‘federally regulated’ as you would think - there’s a lot of room for political maneuvering of kids who DON’T stack up competitively with those who work their way through the competitive process and follow the rules. But, that’s life. It’s no different in this process of admission for service academies - probably worse - and in the viciously competitive admissions environment for the Class of 2008 across the board - at public and private institutions - the political maneuvering was probably out-of-sight this year. I don’t believe you need to personally attack a student who was voicing some valid and understandable opinions. Berating someone personally as having a ‘weakness’ because they voice an intelligent opinion is pretty weak in itself.</p>