But his presidency is still plagued by widespread doubts about his handling of the war in Iraq, with 52 percent saying the Bush administration intentionally misled the public when its officials made the case for war. A majority of Americans want the United States to set some timetable for troop withdrawal; 32 percent want the number of American troops reduced and 28 percent want a total pullout.

The survey, conducted Dec. 2-6, showed Bush's approval rating at 40 percent, up from 35 percent a month ago, which was the low point of his presidency. His gains primarily came among men, independents, 18-to-29-year-olds and conservatives. He remains a fiercely polarizing figure, with an approval rating of 79 percent among Republicans, 12 percent among Democrats and 34 percent among independents.

Overall, 53 percent of Americans disapprove of his job performance, down from 57 percent a month ago.

Despite his gains, Bush's 40 percent approval rating remains among his lowest, and is still substantially lower than that of Presidents Bill Clinton (who was at 58 percent) or Ronald Reagan (who was at 68 percent) at comparable points in their second terms.

The telephone poll of 1,155 adults nationwide has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

As Republican strategists have hoped, Bush seems to be getting a political lift from the economy. Bush has tried hard to highlight good economic news in recent weeks, which have seen a drop in the price of gasoline and new figures showing strong growth in the third quarter. The poll showed that 56 percent describe the national economy as good, up from 47 percent a month ago.

''Things are not that bad,'' Susan Huru, a 47-year-old independent from Wasilla, Alaska, said in a follow-up interview after the poll was completed. ''I can still afford things except for maybe gas.''

Bush's handling of the economy also got slightly better marks - 38 percent approved, up from 34 percent last month. (In contrast, his overall rating on foreign policy continued to fall, to 36 percent from 38 percent in September and 42 percent in August.)

In another measure of national mood closely followed by political strategists, the percentage of Americans who say the country is ''seriously off on the wrong track'' has declined - to 60 percent, from 68 percent a month ago.

Charles Cook, who publishes an independent political newsletter tracking congressional races, said Bush's uptick in the poll is ''consistent with everything else out there.'' He added: ''It looks like they're finally getting a little bit of credit for the economy performing as strongly as it has. We've had good economic news for a while, but Iraq so dominated things it couldn't break through.''

Still, 11 months before the midterm elections, the poll found much that was ominous for the Republican congressional majority. Only 33 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Congress is doing its job, while 53 percent disapproved.

Such approval ratings have been registered throughout 2005, reflecting a level of discontent with Congress that rivals that of the tumultuous mid-1990s.