While speculation has run high that the president-elect and his nominee for attorney general, Republican Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri, will swoop down and wipe away Microsoft's legal woes, antitrust experts say that is unlikely to happen. The reasons are both political and practical. With a deeply divided Senate and weak initial political support after the struggle for Florida's 25 electoral votes, Bush will have to pick his initial policy battles carefully. Microsoft is not likely to be one of them, particularly considering that the appeals court is expected to overturn much of the government's victory. "Given the political and practical realities, the new administration is not going to tamper with the case in the short term," said Bill Kovacic, a professor at the George Washington University Law School. "The administration is not likely to put its footprint on the litigation until after the Court of Appeals issues its decision in May or June."
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