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.
Kinsley only understands that a conservative response (not attack) prevailed. He mislabels it as an attack and doesn't understand what type of 'attack' it was. Nor do many other people (some on this thread) who confuse the swiftboat response with a garden variety political attack or even an October Surprise - some even commented on this thread.
The Swiftboat 'response' was made possible by Kerry bragging and lying about his record and then citizen eyewitnesses refuting it. It is a special situation.