“I think at certain point they decided not to belabor the point because it was useless - the media and Democrats would simply keep repeating their “Big Lie” line.”
I think you may be right. I also think that was a huge blunder. By not having defended their credibility on the one hand they have lost it for all other such situations on the other. I would also argue that they were not only sacrificing their (the Bush administration’s) credibility, they sacrificed that of all Republicans, conservatives, you and me.
How can you govern when every time you attempt to do something our adversaries whip up the great whine — “How can we believe you when you were so wrong about Iraq?”
Correct. It was the deliberate strategy of Democrats since the beginning of Bush presidency to deny him moral authority and destroy his credibility, in part to neutralize real Clinton’s legacy, and as a way to undermine presidential authority and put Bush and his administration and, by extension, entire Republican party and advocates of conservative philosophy on the defensive.