Yahoo News Prime Minister Kevin Rudd barely set foot in the American capital before he received a very public thumbs up from the man charged with fixing the US economy.
According to US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, had Mr Rudd's advice on the global economic crisis been followed, "we'd all be in a better place".
It was high praise indeed for the prime minister who had only a few hours earlier stepped off the plane from Canberra with his wife, Therese Rein, for a four-day visit to a very chilly Washington DC.
Mr Geithner had been the speaker just before Mr Rudd at a conference on the "Future of Finance" hosted by the Wall Street Journal at the swanky Park Hyatt in downtown DC.
The subject of the Australian prime minister's prowess as a Sinologist and as an advocate of the need for government intervention when markets fail early in his political career was raised.
Before he left the stage, Mr Geithner could hardly hide his admiration.
"Can I just add my voice to this. I think the prime minister is incredibly, is A-plus on these issues," Mr Geithner said.
"If we did what he advises, we'll all be in a better place."
Mr Rudd was in his element as he spoke about how his government's handling of the global financial crisis, which began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers' Bank after which "we began to war game through it".
The prime minister will have a packed schedule with Tuesday's (early Wednesday AEDT) meeting with US President Barack Obama , their first face to face, in the Oval Office of the White House.
He will also meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , Mr Geithner, the leaders of the US Congress and the Senate as well as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke .
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd may be popular with Australians and the US government, but his economic policies are not working.
Mr Rudd is enjoying a 65 per cent approval rating as preferred prime minister in the latest Newspoll.
Mr Turnbull on Tuesday said securing praise came a distant second to boosting the economy and creating jobs.
"Everyone will be very polite to Mr Rudd when he's travelling just as we're polite to visiting dignitaries from other countries when they come to Australia," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.
"They can have all of the warm words in the world but ultimately you're judged by results, you're judged by the score.
"And the economic score in Mr Rudd's economic policy is going backwards."
Mr Turnbull reiterated his view that while borrowing tens of billions of dollars to finance the government's second stimulus package was popular, it had not stimulated economic growth or created any new jobs.
