Public Support for the Sotomayor Nomination

This morning, CNN released the results of a survey regarding public support for Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.  About 47% of Americans support confirmation while 40% oppose it (13% had “no opinion”).  To provide context, these results suggest that she is faring better than Harriet Miers did at this point.  The percent supporting confirmation are comparable to Alito’s (and probably within the margin of error for Ginsburg and Thomas at a comparable point in their confirmation processes), but she also has more negative ratings than Alito, Ginsburg, and Thomas had.  Naturally, though, her qualifications (“Well Qualified” ABA rating as noted by Paul Collins noted below) along with 60 Democratic votes in the Senate continue to make this look like a nomination that will end with a successful confirmation.