In a speech to veterans, he calls Maliki a 'good guy,' a day after offering a more tepid endorsement.

"Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, a good man, with a difficult job, and I support him," Bush said during a speech here to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Two days after top Senate Democrats called for Maliki's removal, Bush said, "It is not up to the politicians in Washington, D.C., to say whether he will remain in his job." That, Bush added, is up to the Iraqi people, "who live in a democracy, not a dictatorship."

The White House said news reports suggesting that Bush was backing away from Maliki were not accurate.

"The president will reiterate his support for the prime minister," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe. Asked if Bush believed Maliki was the right person for the task, Johndroe said Maliki was chosen by the Iraqi people, and "that makes him the person we will deal with."

Meanwhile, AlJazeera.net reported that Maliki had rejected U.S. criticism of his administration, saying no one had the right to impose timetables on his government and that his country could "find friends elsewhere."

On a visit to Syria, the Arabic news service said Maliki blamed the criticism on partisan politicians.

Bush's remarks came a day after the president and his top envoy in Baghdad offered tepid endorsements of Maliki, comments that suggested a new distancing from the beleaguered Shiite Muslim leader.

Bush, speaking Tuesday at a summit in Canada, said Maliki's future was in the hands of the Iraqi people.

"Clearly, the Iraqi government has got to do more through its parliament to help heal the wounds of years of having -- having lived years under a tyrant," Bush said at a news conference in the Quebec resort of Montebello as he concluded two days of meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

"People at the grass roots are sick and tired of the violence, sick and tired of the radicalism. They want a better life, and they're beginning to reject the extremists," Bush said, adding in a direct warning to Maliki, "The fundamental question is: Will the government respond to the demands of the people?"

If it does not, he said, Iraqis "will replace the government."

In Baghdad, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker was downbeat in his assessment of Maliki's ability to end sectarian warfare between the Shiites and Sunni Arabs. He called progress toward national reconciliation "extremely disappointing" and said Maliki and other members of his government needed to reach compromises to help quell the violence.