ABORTION RIGHTS Specter : All judge nominees will get a fair hearing

The House speaker expects accord on the overhauling of intelligence agencies.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican in line to head the Senate Judiciary Committee says President Bush's nominees for judgeships will get a fair hearing even if some candidates oppose abortion rights.
Sen. Arlen Specter, a moderate from Pennsylvania who backs abortion rights, said he has supported judicial nominees in the past who do not agree with the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
"The fact is that I have supported all of President Bush's nominees in committee and on the floor. I have never applied a litmus test," Specter said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Intelligence overhaul
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the postelection session of Congress that begins Nov. 16, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said House and Senate negotiators should be able to resolve their differences over competing versions of legislation to overhaul U.S. intelligence agencies.
With the election producing stronger Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, Hastert, R-Ill., also spoke of the need "to find solutions, and we should do it on a bipartisan basis."
A newcomer to the capital, Sen.-elect Barack Obama, D-Ill., said the election indicated to him that "people want to get beyond the slash-and-burn, scorched-earth politics that I think has become the custom in Washington."
Furor ignites
Right after Tuesday's election, Specter set off a furor among conservatives when he said anti-abortion judges were unlikely to be confirmed by the newly elected Senate.
He said then that Bush has had trouble getting some of his nominees confirmed because of Democratic filibusters, adding: "I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning."
Filibusters, a bill-killing tactic of unlimited debate, remain possible in the new Senate because the Republicans' 55-45 majority falls short of the 60 needed to cut off debate.
On Sunday, Specter said he was only pointing out a political fact: Republicans alone lack the votes to quash a Democratic filibuster of a Bush nominee. He also said his support for abortion rights would not get in the way of a judge who didn't back those rights.
"Although I am pro-choice, I have supported many pro-life nominees," he said.
What Rove said
On "Fox News Sunday," White House political adviser Karl Rove said Bush would nominate only judges who would "strictly apply the law, strictly interpret the Constitution" from the bench.
"He views judges as the impartial umpires," Rove said. "They shouldn't be activist legislators who just happen to wear robes and never face election, ... [who] feel free to pursue their own personal or political agenda."
Rove said Specter has assured the president that he would make certain that all appellate nominees receive a prompt hearing and reach the Senate floor.
"Sen. Specter's a man of his word, and we'll take him at his word," Rove said. Some conservatives want Specter to be blocked from chairing the Judiciary Committee, which seniority otherwise would give him.
Items on the congressional agenda in the postelection session and in Bush's second term include:
UGay marriage. Rove said the president will "absolutely" push for a constitutional amendment that says marriage consists only of the union of a man and a woman.
UIntelligence overhaul. Hastert said that with the election over, he hoped for an end to "all the political games" that have stalled action on legislation stemming from recommendations of the Sept. 11 terrorism commission.
UTax laws. Rove said Bush wants to review U.S. tax law "in its entirety" and have "a dialogue as to what is necessary to keep this economy flexible and dynamic and growing."