100 days in office for Bush

American president George W Bush was today marking his landmark 100th day in office - and celebrating being an unexpected success.

Bush was sworn into office at the end of the long-running controversy over the disputed Florida election and amid jokes about his perceived lack of intelligence.

But 100 days on, the president has proved to be a quiet success who has finally emerged from the shadow of the ballot and that of his scandal-hit predecessor, Bill Clinton.

He has come out of a potentially damaging confrontation with China largely unscathed - and with the backing of the majority of the American people.

His dumping of the Kyoto treaty on global warming sparked international outrage but has had little impact on his domestic approval ratings, and the Spanish-speaking leader has begun to build bridges with America’s southern neighbours.

The biggest change for the White House, however, has been style.

Bush has shifted away from Bill Clinton’s place in the spotlight at every national event to a quieter approach.

When the 24-strong crew of the downed US spy plane returned home to American soil, Bush stayed in the White House to avoid taking their moment in the limelight.

It is in stark contrast to the warm populism of Bill Clinton, hugging the bereaved, welcoming home troops and speaking for a nation when it was in pain.

But it has meant Bush has built his own distinctive style, which is studiously courteous.

Rivals have been welcomed to the White House, including Edward Kennedy, a man vilified by right-wing Republicans, and calls for a ‘‘bi-partisan’’ approach made.

He works shorter hours than his predecessor, finishing work at 7pm at the latest, avoiding late-night partying and taking time off to work out during the day.

And he has finally overcome Clinton’s ability to hog the spotlight even after he left office.

Scandals over pardons to convicted criminals given after lobbying from rich donors and Clinton’s relatives, taking the fittings from Air Force One and removing furniture from the White House kept the former president at the top of the news for weeks after Bush took over.

The tense stand-off with China and a roller-coaster stockmarket finally ended the ex-president’s domination of the headlines and made Bush the focus of attention.

Polls show Bush now has a 63% approval rating, with a fifth of Americans saying he is performing above their expectations.

He has even shown willingness to poke fun at the mangled grammar which earned him a reputation as slow-witted.

But his key asset is widely seen as his astute vice-president Dick Cheney.

While past vice-presidents have had little real roles, Cheney is the key to the administration, well-versed in foreign affairs and domestic policy and seen as the power behind the throne.

Surrounded by highly-experienced advisers, Bush has made one key error - being seen as unfriendly to the environment.

While there was little protest domestically about dumping Kyoto, a decision to reverse a Clinton ruling which would have cut acceptable levels of arsenic in water caused damage to the new government.

Now Bush has gone out of his way to appear green, including having First Lady Laura Bush show off their Texas ranch, which uses the latest eco-technology.

The biggest potential downfall Bush faces is his lack of experience in the world beyond America.

So far, he has met most of the world’s major leaders but has limited his statements to saying he wants to work with them.

Last week, Bush made his first appearance on a world stage when he met the leaders of every country in North and South America except Cuba to hammer out a deal on free trade.

He earned praise from the leaders of Latin American countries and said he was there to listen and learn.

His challenge now is to keep a largely conservative agenda on track. Both parties now agree there will be a huge programme of tax cuts, which was utterly opposed by Al Gore, while there is a consensus that government is too big - two key Bush battlegrounds.

His next steps are to get agreement on reforming education to boost under-performing schools and to be seen as a safe pair of hands on a world stage.

And while he has been a surprise hit in America he remains largely untested, overseeing what has been so far a largely crisis-free administration.

The next landmark for Bush will not be another 100 days - it will be his first true crisis.