al Reuters -- intensely frustrated

Bush is only 8 months into his second term, but al Reuters had already hung the "lame duck" sign around his neck. Some sharp intellect at al Reuters, however, noticed that, despite their cheerfully gloomy prognostications about the President's standing, the administration was actually doing pretty damn well:

Two months ago, President Bush faced accusations that he was out of touch with Americans, had lost his touch with Congress and was looking at a cold, lonely second term. But after Bush won key battles in Congress over energy and trade legislation, political analysts were not ready to write him off yet as he prepared to spend August back home in Texas. And the White House, battered for weeks over questions about a CIA leak probe and frustrated that Bush's signature issue, changing Social Security, had failed to gain traction, was ready to do a little bragging to reporters who had questioned whether Bush had become a lame duck far earlier than normal in his second term.

Fear not, fair liberals, though, since al Reuters rushes to point out that there are still clouds on the President's horizon:

Potential trouble looms ahead, however. Iraq, Iran and North Korea represent major foreign policy challenges, the leak probe has yet to be completed, and Bush has to get his Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, confirmed by the Senate.

I particularly love this sentence, though, in which you can see the al Reuters' writer clinging to the lame duck light at the end of the rainbow:

But the legislative victories of July could give Bush some momentum as he tries to hold at bay the time when he truly does become a lame duck.

MSM -- gotta love it.