For some unaccountable reason, Senator Kerry has decided not to sue the Swift Boat Vets for Truth for libel. Beldar gives him one last chance.

I just don't understand. How can he pass up this golden opportunity to clear his name?

"How can [Kerry] pass up this golden opportunity to clear his name?"

His reputation is already clean in the opinions of the people he cares about, and the reputation of his attackers is mud, again, among the people whose opinions matter to him. The very phrase, Swift-boating, means "to slander, smear, or bear false witness". Besides, Democrats believe (along with most of the country) that if it could be proved that the Swift Boat Veterans caused Kerry to lose the election, the human cost could never be repaid (unless you believe in an afterlife of rewards and punishments, I suppose).

Perhaps Kerry isn't big on wasting the countries precious legal resources on frivilous lawsuits. Besides, I doubt this one incident was the cause of him losing the election. He was more than capable of doing that on his own.

Perhaps Kerry isn't big on wasting the countries precious legal resources on frivilous lawsuits.

In other words, all his talk about doing it was just that?

In any event, it wouldn't be "the country's resources." It would be his own.

No, the last thing he wanted was a lawsuit, with discovery, and testimony under oath, that would prove him conclusively to be a fraud and a liar.