Bush meets Australian opposition leader Rudd

SYDNEY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush met on Thursday with Australia's Opposition leader, who is on course to oust Bush's close ally Prime Minister John Howard later this year and reverse his policies on Iraq.

Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd has promised to withdraw about 500 of Australia's frontline troops from Iraq, which he has called the greatest foreign policy disaster since the Vietnam War.

Howard, by contrast, has been a staunch Bush ally, sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, and said this week it was not the time to be scaling down Australian forces.

Howard is expected to call a national election for around November soon after the close of this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, with his conservative coalition government trailing badly behind Labor in polling.

Rudd and Bush bantered about Bush's mountain bike ride in Sydney's bushland on Wednesday, as the two posed for photographers ahead of their meeting.

Bush has said he would defend his Iraq policy with Rudd.

But he has been clearly hesitant to appear to be meddling in Australian domestic politics but has made clear his strong alliance with Howard, whom he has called a "man of steel".

And he is using every opportunity during his visit to pump up the prime minister's popularity.

At a joint press conference on Wednesday, Bush praised Howard's courage and hinted he could pull out a victory in the end.

"I wouldn't count the man out," Bush said. "As I recall, he's kind of like me. We both have run from behind and won."

Despite that, Bush appears to be hedging his bets by meeting Rudd, mindful that the Labor leader could come to power before the end of his term in January 2009.