To the extent that national security must be paid for, it's appropriate.  It helps diffuse the idea that one must have a warrior background to have credibility on the issue.  And it helps shine light on the Bush regime's weakness in national security.  

To wit, he hasn't secured our ports and airports because he was too busy running up deficits to give hand-outs to his rich cronies.  Bush's economic policies are the foundation of why we aren't safer today than before 9/11 and remain vulnerable to attacks on American soil.  His Iraqi misadventures are just the recruitment ads for the army to carry out those attacks.

Bush can stick out his lower lip and posture in his own inimitable macho shithead way, but it doesn't alter the fact that shipments by sea are still entering the country uninspected and that airport security is no better than before 9/11. Dean can certainly match Dubya for backbone plus advance a plan that improves our lot on three fronts - deficit reduction, jobs and security.

While I don't think we should try to reduce everything to economics, where there's an economic factor to an issue and we have ideas that address that, we shouldn't be afraid to call the Bush regime on those economic failures.