That night, and the whole Swiftboaters' effort, swung the election.
Scary, isn't it?
Al Gore Junior's much publicized "popular vote" victory was also due to an October surprise. His popular vote victory was only by 0.51% of the vote. If 0.52% of the vote was changed by the election eve reporting of George W. Bush's DWI arrest decades earlier, then it cost him the popular vote.
And the Foleygate scandal was used to paint the GOP with an entire "Culture of Corruption" slur. And it did affect the election.
Same as it ever was. Dirty politics. And read the quotes from the mass media on my profile page. Do not expect that conservatives will get a fair shake in the election. "Too much is riding on it" for them to be balanced or to point out errors in candidates' statements or to correct inaccurate reports about candidates.
Yes, I think you're correct. 'Twas a beautiful thing!