We can't have a conversation about whether what Kavanaugh allegedly did at 17 should be disqualifying unless he says he did it and makes the case for why it shouldn't be disqualifying.
If Kavanaugh is guilty, the message he's sending to young men now is "ride it out, deny everything, call your accuser a liar, and hope for the best." And even if he's innocent, that's the message "if he did it" defenders like Bari Weiss are sending.
And even if Kavanaugh doesn't know whether he did it, that's not what he's saying now. He's saying it didn't happen, period, which is very different.
Last night at dinner, my kid said she'd respect it if Kavanaugh said "I don't believe I did this, but I can't say for certain I didn't. I am deeply sorry if I did, and I commit to full cooperation with any investigation of the incident."
We'd be in much better shape as a country right now if the political and media figures spinning "if he did" defenses were taking sexual assault as seriously, and thinking about redemption as cogently, as my 15-year-old daughter.
