So what SHOULD the candidates be talking about?
With all of the talk about Vietnam, Cambodia, bikinis, chief of staff living arrangements, immigration, and what have you, I thought I'd search and see what the pollsters claim people are interested in. Here's what I found:

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Sept. 12-16, 2004. N=1,088 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Which ONE issue would you most like to hear the candidates for president discuss during the 2004 presidential campaign?"

%
Economy and jobs 24
War in Iraq 17
Health care/Medicare/Drugs 16
Terrorism (general) 6
Foreign policy/Defense 6
Education 5
Other 19
Don't know 7

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Sept. 7-8, 2004. N=1,000 likely voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Which one of the following issues will be most important to your vote for president?..." Items rotated

%
The economy 23
Terrorism/Homeland security 22
Health care or Medicare 12
Iraq 8
Foreign policy 8
Social Security 7
Education 5
Taxes 4
Gay marriage 4
Not sure 7

Now I'll grant that something as vague as "the economy" can be interpreted in a bunch of different ways - are people interested in outsourcing? Unemployment? Inflation? The Dow?

Still, it's clear that coverage of the candidates is looking at entirely different items. Why is the media covering stuff that the public supposedly doesn't care about? Easy - the economy's not sexy.