Same man, different president

Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist says that "... The man being sworn in today is a radical conservative with an audacious agenda, from overhauling Social Security to overhauling the Middle East. He is deeply polarizing, more loathed by Democrats than any Republican since Richard Nixon and more admired by Republicans than any GOP leader since Ronald Reagan."

So why is Bush about to become only the 16th president in US history to take the oath of office a second time? Why was someone so disquieting returned to office with the largest vote total ever -- 10 million more votes than he won in 2000? Why did the voters not only renew the president's lease on the White House but -- for the first time since 1936 -- give his party enlarged majorities in the House and Senate too?

And something else: What accounts for the good feeling most Americans have about Bush? A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that a majority of the public disapproves of Bush's handling of Iraq, Social Security, the economy, the budget, immigration, healthcare. His overall approval rating is only 52 percent, the lowest of any postwar president except Nixon. And yet six in 10 Americans -- significantly more than the number who voted for him -- say they feel hopeful about the next four years. Why?