WITH MIDTERM elections safely behind him, President Bush tacitly acknowledged yesterday that Democrats who tried to make the economy an issue hit a perilously soft spot in his record that he can't afford to ignore any longer.
From job losses to stock losses to anemic growth, just about all measures of the nation's fiscal health have taken a dive since Mr. Bush took office.
What's more, there's been little sign that the president is actively about the business of prompting a rebound.
Maybe a president can't actually do much about the economy. That doesn't matter. He has to create the appearance of fixing it.
If he succeeds, the confidence he instills will inspire investors and other risk-takers. If he fails to project the image of a chief executive deeply involved in stoking the economic engine on which Americans rely, Mr. Bush is likely to be punished by the voters as his father was - even if the economy rebounds eventually on its own.
His cause, and the country's, would be best served if the steps Mr. Bush takes now to "increase the momentum of our economic recovery," as he put it, are carefully targeted to balance short-term stimulus with the long-term goal of fiscal discipline.
Sacking Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was an obvious and overdue first step. Neither contributed to an aura of confidence.
Mr. O'Neill, often given to candid if impolitic observation, never seemed to understand the effect of his words on the delicate financial markets. Mr. Lindsey was too dogmatic in his approach.
Their replacements, CSX Chairman John Snow and former Goldman Sachs chief Stephen Friedman, were applauded yesterday as able executives better suited to articulating the president's economic message.
But ultimately it's the message that matters. And it can't just be about more tax cuts for the rich.
If an economic stimulus package is deemed necessary, a key element should be the speedy extension of jobless benefits for the nearly 1 million Americans who will be cut off at the end of this month.
Another valuable element Mr. Bush could include would be relief to the states, which are facing huge holes in their own budgets, thanks mostly to the lagging economy. States can't get away with deficit spending like Congress can, and could use some of the money on personnel or capital projects to promote homeland security.
There will be no shortage of worthy candidates to include in an economic stimulus package now that it's clear the president is willing to sign one. But if it's too large, it will be self-defeating.
Investors and other spenders need to be sure the country can meet its long-term obligations to Social Security and Medicare while financing defense costs and whatever new emergencies arise.
Spending the cupboard bare now might help Mr. Bush in 2004 - but he would be leaving a terrible legacy.