Yet the VP doesn't actually nominate anyone, do they?
West Point chooses who gets a VP nomination.
Nothing about the candidate is sent to the VP, nothing - no grades, transcripts, recommendations - nothing. The VP knows nothing about a candidate.
West Point chooses who gets a VP nomination, and they only have 5 total slots to use for the VP appointments. They "normally" have one slot per year according to you.
So why would they choose to nominate someone who is not getting an appointment?
Explain that.
Why would the admissions office of West Point use one of the very limited rare VP nominations on a candidate who is not going to get an appointment?
It makes no sense.