Not one shred of evidence nor corroboration was ever produced to support Ford’s claims against Kavanaugh. Not. One. She just seemed credible, people said. But Reade doesn’t? On what basis? Don’t we believe all women these days? Where was the zeal with which reporters and editorialists investigated and repeated absurd tales of Kavanaugh’s high school life, including debunked gang-rape parties?

Republicans treated Ford like a Fabergé egg, as White House counselor Kellyanne Conway once noted, while Democrats, until they were recently shamed into taking Reade somewhat seriously, at first seemed content to regard her as, well, a troubled woman. As though Ford, who claimed she needed two front doors in her house, was a perfect witness.

Without putting either woman’s motivations on trial, it has always been appropriate to scrutinize their credibility. But under today’s de facto “believe every woman” standard, few dared challenge Ford, who was backed by a fleet of pro bono lawyers and top-drawer feminist organizations. Not even the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, all men, dared question Ford, instead hiring a female sexual-assault prosecutor to gently interview her.