That's a little silly for Krugman to try and compare anyone to FDR on the "fear" issue. Maybe FDR said "we have nothing to fear, but fear itself." However, when faced with the threat of facism and an attack on American soil, FDR had little problem making clear that a threat, in fact, existed.

Roosevelt advocated for confronting Nazism. He didn't try to minimize the differences between their philosophy and ours. He didn't constantly beat the drum for "civil liberties" and demand rights for Nazi spies and saboteurs. He advocated battling them at every turn and at every cost.

Now, which party today wants to treat Islamo-facism and terrorism the same way that FDR confronted Nazism and facism? The Republicans who advocate for tough homeland security...or the Democrats who try and tell us that Islam is no worse than the Christian right, call for surrender in the middle east and demand we given terrorists the same rights we give US citizens?