Bush at 63 percent job-approval rating

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush is completing his third year in office with a 63-percent job-approval rating, the highest since Lyndon Johnson.

USA Today reported Friday Bush is benefiting from recent positive signs in the economy and rising confidence in his management of the Iraq war. The newspaper reports that polling analysts and presidential scholars agree it is too early to consider Bush a sure winner for re-election, despite his showing now.

However, the article said, things can change.

Bush's father had a 50-percent approval rating at the end of 1991 and he was defeated by Bill Clinton, a result of a sour economy. Jimmy Carter ended 1979 with a 54-percent approval rating and lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Carter's response to the Iranian hostage crisis was perceived as weak.