With bigger Republican congressional majorities and a decisive victory in the popular vote, Bush heads into a second term with a clearer mandate and greater power than he did in 2000 to put a conservative, free-market stamp on U.S. domestic and foreign policy. The president and his advisers interpreted Tuesday's election results as a ringing endorsement of his goals of reducing the size of government, providing taxpayers greater control over their income, and continuing, if not intensifying, the war on terrorism and other security threats. ...

But the president has a relatively brief window, Republican lawmakers say, to leverage his popularity and begin the difficult process of reforming the tax code or Social Security before GOP congressional members start worrying about the midterm elections in 2006 or the presidential race four years from now.