I can't help but wonder if Karl Rove gave them the papers.
I believe the story is essentially correct. There's plenty of evidence that Bush was a total fuck-up in his youth. But I also believe the story is moot. The man has been running the show for 4 years (almost), and that's what we should be scrutinizing, not what he did 30 years ago.
Kerry hasn't had the job, so we have to look to his past for clues to his potential performance, but Bush is a known quantity.