Less than two months into his second term as US president, George W. Bush is riding high on a wave of movement toward democracy in the Middle East and solid economic growth and job gains at home.
In his first term and leading up to last year's presidential election, Bush's political opponents were most critical of his handling of the economy and foreign affairs, especially Iraq.
But those voices have largely quieted now and Bush is showing the effects. Not having to worry about re-election anymore and knowing that a majority of voters supported him -- as opposed to the 2000 election where more Americans voted for vice president Al Gore -- has made the president appear more relaxed, especially when dealing with the media.
It helps that his policies are seemingly showing results.
"I think certainly things are looking very positive in the economy, in foreign affairs and certainly in the Middle East and I think the president deserves an awful lot of credit for staying the course in the face of a lot of criticism and even more hand wringing over some of those policies," said Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican and a staunch supporter of the president.
But it is not just the president's supporters that have words of praise for Bush. In a March 1 editorial, The New York Times, which often has had the president in its cross-hairs, also lauded him for developments in the Middle East.
"This has so far been a year of heartening surprises -- each one remarkable in itself, and taken together truly astonishing. The Bush administration is entitled to claim a healthy share of credit for many of these advances," the paper said.
Even his erstwhile European critics on the war in Iraq have come to terms with past quarrels, and gave Bush a warm reception during his whirlwind visit there last month during which joint strategies for Iran and Iraq were discussed.
While recent elections in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories are only first steps toward establishing solid democracies in these countries, they are important steps that would have seemed impossible to many just a few years ago.
In addition, demonstrations in Lebanon and statements out of Egypt and Saudi Arabia indicating that they would move toward democratic elections show that the winds of change might be blowing through the Middle East.
While universally welcomed in the US, the developments take some of the arrows out of the quivers of Bush's opponents, who have sought to paint the way the administration dealt with Iraq as a failure.
Even former president Bill Clinton, a Democrat, said the "Iraqi elections went better than anyone could have imagined," and defended Bush for not providing a timetable for when the US would withdraw from the country, as some Democrats have requested. Clinton also said it is "wonderful" that thousands are in the streets in Lebanon to demand their country back.
"It may be too early to tell but clearly the positive signs are there and lets hope that they are the beginning of what may end up a major democratization of that part of the world."
The downward slump of the dollar has also been an increasing worry in terms of the erosion of confidence among foreign investors. But the economy added 262,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate has been steadily below 5.5 percent, a figure most countries can only dream of.
During Bush's first term, the loss of jobs had been one of the main points of attack for Democrats, but the economy has recovered from a recession and the fallout of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan this month attested that the economy has a "positive short-term outlook."
The president's supporters say it was Bush's leadership that is leading to changes in the Middle East, although the White House is careful not to claim laurels.
"I don't think the president gets caught up in who gets credit for things. I mean, the credit belongs to the people in those countries who aspire for greater freedom," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan earlier this month, dismissing a question on the issue.
But lawmakers know that the positive signs out of the Middle East do not mean a successful transfer to democracy.
"We don't want to lean forward too much on our skis," Nelson said.
"It is rewarding to see that Iraq and Afghanistan had their first democratic elections," Republican Senator John Sununu said. "That's a step in the right direction but there is lots more that needs to be done to ensure that these things are made permanent."
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