U.S. President George W. Bush urged moderation in the battle forming over his nomination of a new U.S. Supreme Court justice, whom he told USA Today newspaper he expects to have in office by October. "I would hope that the groups involved in this process-the special-interest groups-will help tone down the heated rhetoric and focus on the nominee's credentials and philosophy," Bush said in an interview published today. Republicans and Democrats are preparing for a major political fight over a successor to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her retirement last week. The vacancy provided Bush with his first chance to reshape the ideological balance of the nine-member high court, which has much influence over the lives of Americans as it interprets the U.S. Constitution. Liberals warned Bush not to nominate an "extremist," while Republicans urged the president to select a strict conservative. Bush said he had "a good-sized" number of potential nominees. "I will begin to [focus] on a handful of candidates over the course of the next few weeks," he said.
