The news media believes that politics is strictly a "gotcha" game of one-upsmanship, where charges can be countered by carefully parsed, Clintonesque verbiage. The reason that Kerry is having difficulty "countering" the attack is because he has been lying through his teeth for over a third of a century about "Christmas in Cambodia," his statements are a matter of public (and Congressional) record, and he has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, up to the elbow. How do you counter that?
Well, by finding a Republican to smear. Trouble is, you can smear Republicans up and down and it doesn't erase the Congressional Record.
All they can do is thank God that the media is on there side, and are busy cooking something up to save him from having to admit to confabulating a yarn.
Simple, for a Democrat. Tell another lie.