Americans are giving President Bush a higher job-approval rating following last month's elections in Iraq.

A new poll by the Gallup Organization puts the president's approval rating at 57 percent, up six points from Gallup's previous poll in mid-January.

The polling group says the increase appears to be related to the Iraqi elections.

Roughly 61 percent of those surveyed said the elections went better than they expected.  The poll indicates 53 percent of Americans say things are going well for the United States in Iraq, up from from 40 percent.

Meanwhile, Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political strategist during his re-election campaign, has been promoted to Deputy White House Chief of Staff.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday Mr. Rove will be involved in developing and coordinating policy, while continuing to be a top political adviser.

Some information for this story provided by AP and Reuters.