Voter confidence about the situation in Iraq has hit an all time high.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 51% of voters now expect the situation in Iraq to improve over the next six months. That’s up two percentage points from the preceding week.

Just 17% of voters now say the situation will get worse in the coming months, while 16% say things will stay about the same.

Forty-two percent (42%) now believe the U.S. mission in Iraq will be judged as a success while 40% hold the opposite view and say it will be judged as a failure. A plurality of men say the mission will be seen as a success while women disagree.

Additionally, on election night, 52% of voters said that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. That’s down three percentage points from last week.

Only 19% say the terrorists are winning the war, 21% say neither side is prevailing. Most men (56%) say the U.S. and its allies are winning, just 47% of women agree.

Voters are still critical of the President’s handling of the situation. Just 28% rate Bush’s performance in the War as good or excellent, while 51% rate his performance as poor. Those ratings have changed little over the past few months.

Nearly half of voters (47%) say the U.S. is safer today than it was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. That percentage is down a point from last week, but up five points from last month. Over a third (37%) say the opposite, up a point from a week ago and up three points from the beginning of last month.

About a week before Barack Obama won the Presidential election, voters were divided on which candidate they trusted more to handle the War in Iraq. However, voters trusted John McCain more when it came to national security by a 54% to 43% margin.

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