A stream of upbeat economic news should improve the view Americans have of President George W. Bush's handling of the economy, US Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Sunday.
Polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of Bush's management of the economy and think Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry would do a better job.
"I think there are some lags in these things and also there's been so much attention to other things, particularly the war in Iraq, that it has deflected attention from the economy," Snow said when asked about the ratings in an interview with CNN.
"The news on the economy ... is so good and so pervasive, so far-reaching, that I think people will change their views here," the US Treasury chief said.
Bush has been stung by charges he has presided over the weakest labour market since the Great Depression. While US employers have begun hiring strongly in recent months, 1.2 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office.
Kerry advisers have argued that many Americans have yet to enjoy any benefit from an increased economic pace, with wage growth still anemic and the middle class struggling with rising costs, particularly for health care.
Snow noted that nearly a million jobs had been created in the last three months and that US gross domestic product had grown at its fastest pace in 20 years over the past three quarters. And he offered an upbeat assessment of the future.