Public Support for Sotomayor Falls After Supreme Court Reversal

A new Rasmussen poll shows that public support has gone from a plurality supporting her confirmation to a plurality opposing her confirmation in the two days since the release of the Supreme Courts decision in Ricci.

A heavily publicized U.S. Supreme Court reversal of an appeals court ruling by Judge Sonia Sotomayor has at least temporarily diminished public support for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the two nights following the Supreme Court decision, finds that 37% now believe Sotomayor should be confirmed while 39% disagree.

Two weeks ago, the numbers were much brighter for the nominee. At that time, 42% favored confirmation, and 34% were opposed.

Ed Morrissey dives into the crosstabs and shows that the internal numbers may be even more troubling for Obama's first SCOTUS nominee.

As usual, the crosstabs tell an interesting story. First, the most damaging numbers may not come from the confirmation question at all, which is a statistical split. Her favorability rankings look simply terrible for someone supposedly outside the political arena. She has a net favorability of -13, with 49% having an unfavorable view of Sotomayor. She has a -8 among women (47%-39% unfavorable) and a -16 among men (53%-37% unfavorable). Majorities find her unfavorable in almost every income bracket, with the exception of <$20K and $60-$75K.

That said, it is now becoming increasingly difficult for Obama to make the case the she is a moderate jurist or that he is not the extreme liberal that many of his critics paint him to be.