"...instead of using surrogates..."
This implies you think that the RNC and the SwiftVets were in bed together. I don't accept your premise. Out of 225 or so of Kerry's command structure and fellow swift boat guys, about 12 supported the coward while virtually every other one denounced Kerry. I, personally, think that Bush is just too classy an individual to sling easy mud at an easy target. Thankfully, the Swiftees came to the rescue and told the truth relentlessly.
I'm not implying coordination between the two camps. What I meant to say is that it is traditionally the role of the president/vice president to level their own attacks at an opposing candidate. For one reason, it is awfully hard to ignore a charge made directly by the candidate. The MSM tried to blockade the Swifties from giving their grievances any credibility.
It's easy for the media to marginalize a bunch of people the general public doesn't know. Had the President or the Vice President amplified these charges and used one of the debates to ask Kerry about them, I think it not only would have been very effective but it could have put the election less in doubt than it was.
IMO, of course.
I don't accept the premise either. The swiftvets were by definition Vietnam era combat veterans...there are not too many of those guys in any level of Republican policy making. There are exceptions...Hunter, Cunningham, Kline...but for the most part most of the leadership in both parties were too good to serve themselves.