Shorthand for what? Michael doesn't define what the term means. He mentions a specific campaign attack but then there have been campaign attacks since there was dirt.
If I was to try and generalize what "swiftboating" is I would say ... A candidate touted himself as having a key strength due to a specific set of events in his life and then grassroot citizens who were eye-witnesses to those events refuted it. A key point is that the candidate first made the event an issue and then eyewitnesses responded to the assertions.
So could there be switftboating in this election? IMO only if there are citizen eyewitnesses who can prove a candidate is lying about something a candidate claims. An ordinary campaign attack or an October surprise isn't necessarily a "swiftboat".
Michael Kensley does nothing but think and analyze for a living. That's all he does. And yet he doesn't understand what happened here.
The Swift Vets' success was and is a profound affront to the leftist media. Those veterans long ago rode off into the political sunset, but Kinsley and his ilk are still working to turn public opinion against them by using smears, slogans, and repetition -- since the facts aren't on their side.
This is not caused by a lack of understanding. It is a coordinated effort intended to prevent anything similar from happening again.