Bush readies for Supreme Court post battle

US PRESIDENT George W Bush is gearing up for a battle to get his conservative nominee into the Supreme Court.

Mr Bush said yesterday he was confident that John G Roberts would get "a timely hearing, a fair hearing" from the US Senate.

Abortion, a polarising issue for Congress, will be to the forefront in the confirmation battle, conceded Fred Thompson, the former senator who will shepherd Judge Roberts through the Senate. But Mr Thompson cautioned lawmakers not to read too much into the judge's seemingly conflicting legal positions on Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalising abortion.