The article is specifically discussing the composite index. A graph of this index can be seen on page 8 of this document. I won't pretent perfect understanding of all the different indexes, and their ramifications, but in my opinion, the overall trend for the composite index during the Bush administration is looking pretty damn good. The index (I would have to pay money for the exact numbers) appears to have exceeded Clinton's high point about two years ago, and has been climbing steadily since.

I don't see a political problem.

I think one point is that the media is going to be cherry-picking statistics until November. There's always some bad economic news you can find if you look.