Support for Alito among Public Closer to Miers than to Roberts 
Early support for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is considerably weaker among such key groups as evangelicals, Republicans and the wealthy than it was for John Roberts, an AP-Ipsos poll found.The survey put public sentiment for Alito closer to the level of early backing for the failed nomination of Harriet Miers.
Alito's selection followed the implosion of the Miers nomination, which could leave some people slow to embrace President Bush's latest nominee, said presidential scholar Charles Jones, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution."That has led to a hesitancy among some Republicans, conservatives and evangelicals," Jones said. "The Miers experience really raised doubts about the president and his judgment, it's more of a wait-and-see."
So that would mean just about no one trusts Bush's judgment any more. But I think that this is important for another reason: since so much of the posturing over the filibuster and possible nuclear option has to do with presenting a better face to the public, the fact that Alito has not been granted shoo-in status yet leaves the door open for potential opponents. That is, unlike with Roberts, there had not yet congealed an inevitable sense of "but of course this guy will be confirmed."
So stay tuned.
-- Stu
KEYWORDS: Samuel Alito, Supreme Court, Senate
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