Boost for Bush as Supreme Court nominee approved

US PRESIDENT George W Bush received a morale boost ahead of his State of the Union address last night with the confirmation of his nominee for the Supreme Court.

Judge Samuel Alito was sworn in at a private ceremony at the Supreme Court building.

The judge was expected to attend the address, in which Mr Bush faced a struggle to restore faith in his leadership among the many Americans who don’t approve of the job he’s doing or think the country is on the right track.

His fifth such address comes after arguably the worst year of his presidency.

Due to be delivered in the early hours of this morning, it had gone through more than 30 drafts.

The speech gave the president an opportunity to lay out his agenda in this mid-term election year.

He was expected to try to ease anxiety about continuing US troop deaths in Iraq and the high price of fuel and healthcare that are dampening Americans’ view of the economy.

He was due to argue that his programme to secretly eavesdrop on communications between people in the US and suspected terrorists overseas is not only legal, but necessary, despite the questions raised by legal experts.

He was set to urge Congress to renew the controversial portions of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, set to expire on Friday and blocked by lawmakers insisting on privacy safeguards.

Mr Bush’s job approval ratings have rebounded somewhat, but still hover in the high 30s to low 40s in most polls. About two-thirds of Americans say the country is headed down the wrong track.

The numbers give Republicans cause for worry as they look to maintain control of Congress in this autumn’s mid-term elections.

Mr Bush planned to talk extensively about Iraq and the war on terror in the speech, in which he said he would describe America’s responsibility to lead the world in promoting freedom and sound economic principles.

Earlier, Judge Alito was confirmed as the 110th US Supreme Court justice after a fierce battle over the future direction of the high court.

The Senate voted 58-42 to confirm the former federal appellate judge, US attorney, and conservative lawyer for the Reagan administration as the replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who has been a moderate swing vote on the court.

All but one of the senate’s majority Republicans voted for his confirmation, while all but four of the Democrats voted against Judge Alito.

Judge Alito’s confirmation represents a victory for the Bush administration.

Critics who mounted a fierce campaign against his nomination noted that while he worked in the solicitor general’s office for President Ronald Reagan, he suggested that the Justice Department should try to chip away at abortion rights rather than mount an all-out assault.

The White House had initially selected White House counsel Harriet Miers for the court, but she was forced to withdraw following a barrage of criticism.