Reply #1: "It's not ONLY the economy, stupid"

[klook]

is a more accurate depiction of Krugman's column. He does say, as you quote, that Bush must "be held to account for his dismal record on jobs, health care and the environment," but that the Kerry campaign must attack Bush on his claim of being an effective wartime leader.

I like this from Krugman's column:

"If I were running the Kerry campaign, I'd remind people frequently about Mr. Bush's flight-suit photo-op, when he declared the end of major combat. In fact, the war goes on unabated. News coverage of Iraq dropped off sharply after the supposed transfer of sovereignty on June 28, but as many American soldiers have died since the transfer as in the original invasion.

And I'd point out that while Mr. Bush spared no effort preparing for his carrier landing - he even received underwater survival training in the White House pool - he didn't prepare for things that actually mattered, like securing and rebuilding Iraq after Baghdad fell."

I agree. Take a page from the Rove playbook. Attack Bush on his supposed strength.