This is progress.
Kerry undoubtedly was of the impression all the criticism would come from the far left in the Democratic party, which would explain his efforts to totally suppress the left at the convention.
Surprise! There are plenty of guys out there who are quite willing to criticize his conduct in the war because they didn't like it when they saw it, nor the way he "went over to the enemy" after the war.
An excellent point. Some think Bush should let this go because Kerry trumps Bush with actual service in Vietnam vs. flightime in the Air Guard. They fail with the follow-through that Kerry *hit-canned his service and those he served with and never recanted his anti-war antics in his transformation to flag-waving wonder warrior. He can't have it both ways. The Swifties are the real heroes of this story beacuse the truth will out without the lame-stream media's help.