Obama finds some solid ground; tests still ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six months after Republicans alarmed Democrats with a midterm election wave, President Barack Obama has shaken off the jitters and found his political footing despite sluggish economic growth and deep public anxiety about the direction of the country.

The White House now displays an air of confidence, bolstered in part by achievements such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos and the financial success of an auto industry that Obama bailed out over the objections of many.

Obama is also benefiting from the absence of negatives. The economy, while lethargic, is growing. The private sector is creating jobs. Natural disasters, while deadly and plentiful, have not developed into governmental crises. Skyrocketing gas prices, which fed the public's economic fears, are now subsiding. And the GOP's signature budget plan, ambitious in its spending reductions, has lost its luster with the public.

"It is likely he will be re-elected, in my opinion," veteran Republican pollster Wes Anderson says.