Why does it matter whether a then-17-year-old Brett M. Kavanaugh drunkenly tried to rape a 15 year old, at a house party, 36 years ago?
That question is implicit in all of the Republican defenses of the Supreme Court nominee.
The accusation amounts to "a little hiccup," says Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.; a "drive-by shooting," says Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C.; and, generally speaking, a cheap "smear," according to many other Kavanaugh enthusiasts.
The accusation is a distraction, such comments suggest, designed to draw attention away from Kavanaugh's brilliant mind and impeccable legal credentials. It's not just unreliable; it's also irrelevant.