Two things:
1. As I and others have suggested, Kavanaugh could have short-circuited this at the beginning if he confessed that when he was young he had a drinking problem and may have engaged in inappropriate actions but he is a changed man, and that he apologizes to all he may have harmed.
2. Too many men are upset because they believe that rules have changed on them. In the early 80’s, schools had not yet been fostering the view that drunkenness doesn’t imply consent; and men don’t feel they should be punished now for behavior which they deemed acceptable back then.