Obama tells senators to 'vote their conscience' on Kagan

President Barack Obama said Sunday that efforts to oppose Solicitor General Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court are composed of "pretty thin gruel," and he is confident the Senate will come to find her as well qualified.

With Kagan's confirmation hearings set to begin this week, Obama, speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of the G-20 in Toronto, said that senators "should pay attention" to Kagan's record and testimony and then "vote their conscience."

The president said he expects his former colleagues in the Senate from both sides of the aisle to ask his nominee "tough questions," but he said he is confident that a "fair reading" of Kagan's record and testimony will result in Senate confirmation.

The president praised Kagan as "somebody with an extraordinary intellect, somebody with good judgment" and someone who understands how the law impacts the lives of average Americans.