There is no doubt that the DNC, RNC and the press all know the Swiftboat Veterans speak the truth. But everybody is busy playing their own strategeries.
Bush and the RNC are taking the high road of the campaign - because they know they have a strong hand in presenting the positive aspects of his presidency - and they don't want to be seen as denigrating the service of a veteran (no matter HOW dishonorable), since this may be perceived as a low blow by the barely-informed but all-important swing voter. However, he will not undercut the Swiftboat Vets by condemning their charges, since he knows they speak the truth about Kerry, and he also knows that the vets will be much more effective, if they lead an independent grass-roots effort to illuminate this cockroach of a candidate.
The DNC 'Rats and media also know Kerry is a pompous, lying blowhard. But they think of Kerry as a Lenin, a Che Guevara, or a Mao Tse Tung. They are willing to forgive any lie, any failing, any crime (read Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton), to elect a person they think will be capable of leading them to their promised "progressive" land. So they also ignore the substance of the charges made by the Swiftboat Veterans.
Ahhh, but the 'Rats have a problem with this approach. This ain't their Daddy's airtight Goebbels machine. Fighting yesterday's propaganda battles don't cut it no more. The internet is leaking the truth like a sieve, and their failure to address it leaves their 'Rat followers with no pack of lies to counter these devastingly documented accusations.
So, like the 5 year-olds they are, they come whining to Daddy-President, demanding he tell everybody that Kerry isn't a liar, a fraud, and a charlatan. Bush rightly ignores the request, as well as the smashed cookie jar and the crumbs all over the bum's face.
And what about Fox News? Fox News is currently in a very confused phase. There is no question that they have achieved their success by gathering conservatives disgusted with the mainstream media, who tuned in to hear the news presented in a less blatantly leftist fashion. But, being a victim of its own success, it now wants to jump to the next level of mainstream-tivity. And what does that call for? Being a little more like the Goebbels machine. Ignore the truth a little more. Parrot some fashionable lies. Pose as more circumspect about the relative merits of the Weimar Republic versus Nazism. There are two sides to every issue, eh? Good plan, Fox. We can tune you out too. We still have the internet - and we can also re-annoint another outlet that has the courage to present the substantial and obvious truth.
You are right on target! Fox can--and based on what I've read lately, should--be replaced as a news channel for conservatives.