He lost as much due to his character as to anything else, and that's why what the Swiftboat vets said mattered.
All along we said he was an empty suit, with no convictions, no integrity, and this is borne out in Newsweak. Telling McCain he'd expand the role of VP to include defense and God only knows what else....unconstitutional doesn't begin to describe this. Kerry is crazy.
I have to say that I wasn't a big SBV enthusiest, but the book and their points did lead to people considering Kerry's character.
I truly did not think the points they made would matter, but obviously they did in retrospect...BUT it was only because Kerry made VN an issue!