You raise some valid questions Iron Mortlock. I think the answers lie in:

-Only partisan Democrats really believe this fantasy that George W Bush used family influence to get into the Air National Guard, then partied his way through it the entire time. Likewise, he most likely got into Yale, and earned the grades he received there for better or worse, on his own merits. Your assuming a lot of facts not in evidence, and the primary document supporting this theory was proven to be a forgery, written by a Democratic party hack from Texas (who just happened to also be in Bush's Air National Guard unit).

-Above anything else, the Right believes in the sovereignty of the USA. When John Kerry said that he would begin his presidency by going around apologizing to the rest of the world, and then asking the UN for permission whenever he thoguht we needed to use force, he lost any hope of getting the right or the middle in this country. Americans may not agree with the war, but they certainly don't agree with the idea that France, Russia and China should have the right to dictate American policy to us.

-Americans as a whole respect people who actually believe in what they're saying. A majority of Americans do not agree with Bush's views on Iraq and the necesity of entering the conflict, but most agree that Bush himself actually believed in it and still does. Kerry on the other hand seems to take whatever position is politically expedient. That business about 'flip-flop'? That wasn't just namecalling. We don't want a leader that will do whatever he thinks is popular, or will get him the most votes. We want a guy who whether we agree with him or not will make some statements about where he stands and then will stand behind them. John Kerry seems utterly incapable of taking a principled stand of any sort, other than that he has the best hair.