Microsoft may find no white knight in George W. Bush.

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. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is handling Microsoft's appeal of a devastating ruling and remedy. In April, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson determined that Microsoft violated two sections of the 1890 Sherman Act. He later ordered that Microsoft be broken into separate operating system and software application companies but stayed the order pending appeal. The appeals process is expected to pick up momentum Jan. 12, when the government files its principal legal brief in the case, followed by oral arguments Feb. 26 and 27. While Bush has publicly indicated that he opposes a forced breakup of Microsoft, even if he wanted to intervene immediately there is no practical way this can happen, legal experts say. Bush has bigger problems than Microsoft to deal with. The legal battle over Florida's electoral votes delayed his putting together a cabinet and filling about 3,000 politically appointed positions--all requiring background checks and around 1,000 subject to Senate confirmation.