Dahlia Lithwick is upset that various sorts are inflicting unfair attacks on legal appointments in the Obama Administration, particularly because she respects and has some personal connection with many of them. For instance, Dawn Johnsen is up for head of the OLC, and has written for Slate plus was a leading progressive legal voice. Meanwhile, attacks on her include scary if misleading at best citations of an old footnote in an abortion brief referencing (ack) the 13th Amendment. Pragmatically you avoid mentioning it, but even facing such things front on, her side comes out right.
This comes with the territory, but one side tends to be noticeably more rabid and lockstep than the other. [The pox is on both houses, as shown by Prof. Levinson's rabid attacks on Sen. Gillibrand (see comments), but the sides are not equal. But, this can be a tiresome battle, and issues of substance should be our core focus.] Now, it's Prof. Koh's time, though as I note in posts like this one, it has not be just a unilateral battle. The Internet provides a means to research lies and misleads, try to address the assumptions of some opponents (even if they are not convinced, their claims can taint the discussion without a reply) and even listen to the guy on YouTube or whatnot.
And, in the spirit of his career as a law professor, this can be a teaching moment, promoting the truth on things like international law's role in our jurisprudence and the value of the rule of law overall. Even at Bagram Air Force Base.