Has Bob Dole completely lost his mind?

A guest column in today's New York Times claims that the economy is in good shape

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/28/opinion/28DOLE.html

His claims so utterly ridiculous that I found myself laughing out loud at the article.

Dole writes:

Creating new jobs remains a problem, but even those numbers are headed up. Since August 364,000 jobs have been added. The current unemployment rate is lower than the decade averages for the 1970's, 80's and 90's. Even the stock markets, which presaged the 2001 recession when they began falling in 2000, are adding value. Although both are down slightly so far this year, in 2003 the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 25 percent and the Nasdaq by almost 50 percent.

And here's the kicker: some economic indicators are even more favorable now than they were back in 1996. The misery index -- the combination of unemployment and inflation -- is actually lower now than it was at this point in 1996. And less misery is a good thing for incumbents.

Seriously, what planet is Dole on? To say that the economy is in better shape now than it was in '96 is one the weakest claims I've ever heard, especially with rising gasoline prices about to make the return of inflation possible. If Dole's mentality is at all reflective of Republican economic policy in general, the '04 campaign could go better than expected for Democrats.

Any thoughts?