President-elect Mr George W. Bush holed up at his Texas ranch yesterday polishing an inaugural address he hopes will set a healing tone as two of his Cabinet nominees came under fresh fire in Washington.
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Mr Bush hoping to heal wounds after Florida vote bitterness
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Groups that favor the separation of church and state took Mr Bush's nominee to be attorney general, former Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri, to task for his statement in a May 1999 speech that Americans have no king but Jesus.
Environmental and civil rights groups mobilized to oppose Ms Gale Norton, his choice for interior secretary, arguing she favors logging, mining and grazing interests over conservation and accusing her of insensitivity on racial matters.
Neither Mr Ashcroft nor Ms Norton is expected to be defeated in the US Senate, which is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, but their confirmation hearings are likely to be an early test of Mr Bush's strength on Capitol Hill.
The Bush team attributed the opposition to partisanship stemming from lingering bitterness about the 36-day post-election battle over Florida's vote in which Republican Bush prevailed over Democratic Vice President Mr Al Gore.
At a joint news conference in Washington, environmental and civil rights groups announced plans for a campaign to defeat Ms Norton, including radio and television advertisements.
Bush aides said the president-elect, who will take office in eight days, was spending his final weekend as a private citizen packing up at his Texas ranch and polishing an inaugural address that aims to bring Americans together.
He plans to spend Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - visiting a Houston school with his Education Secretary nominee Mr Roderick Paige.
He will make a brief stop on Wednesday in his boyhood home of Midland, Texas and then fly to Washington that evening for a round of pre-inauguration parties and formalities before he takes the oath of office on the Capitol steps on Saturday.
Reuters