For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost

Apparently the nail in the Kerry campaign was the campaign's failure to take seriously the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth:

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group of Republican-funded Vietnam War veterans who patrolled the same Mekong Delta in Swift boats similar to the ones piloted by Navy Lt. John Kerry, challenged Kerry's accounts of his medal-winning service and anti-war protests. In the first ad, former sailors who served on boats near Kerry's in Vietnam said he lied about his war record. In a second, veterans criticized his subsequent anti-war activities. A third attacked Kerry for throwing away the medals he earned in Vietnam. Cahill said the Swift boat ads show the power of news coverage, particularly cable news stations, which she said amplified the ads by running them repeatedly.

I agree with Cahill that this was a bad miscalculation. I have only two comments on AP's coverage. First, why do they say the "Republican funded" Swift Boat Veterans, yada, yada? I've never heard them say, "the Democratic funded MoveOn.org" or, more accurately, the "Soros-funded MoveOn.org." Second, the AP states conclusorily that the allegation that Kerry lied about his war record was debunked. I don't remember that debunking. I remember that Kerry refused to release his war records, which would have allowed for debunking. Any corrections to my memory?