Voters trust Obama over GOP to make right SCOTUS pick

In a poll released Wednesday, voters believe President Barack Obama, not Senate Republicans, can make the right pick to fill the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy.

53 percent are "very confident" or "somewhat confident" that Obama will make the right decision when naming a nominee in the latest Qunnipiac poll. 46 percent are "not too confident" or "not confident at all" that he will select the right nominee.

Voters trusted Obama over Senate Republicans 46 to 43 percent, but they also said 48 to 41 percent that senators should filibuster the choice if they disagree with him or her on key issues.

"At this point Americans are slightly more confident than not that President Obama will make a good choice for the Supreme Court, but they split with 42 percent saying the nominee will be too liberal and 42 percent saying the nominee will be about right," Peter A. Brown, a polling official, said in a statement.

The poll comes on a day when Senate leaders are heading to the White House to discuss the president's pick to fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Republicans have warned that they could filibuster a nominee, while Democrats have said that doing so would break precedent with past nomination processes.

Obama is expected to name a nominee no later than May 26, setting the table for a summer confirmation battle.

Qunnipiac surveyed 1,930 registered voters nationwide from April 14-19.

The poll shows that Obama has less approval from voters across the board. His approval rating hit an all-time low of 44 percent in the survey. 

"President Barack Obama's approval rating hovers at an all-time low," Brown said. "The White House had predicted passage of the health care overhaul would boost his fortunes, but that has not been the case, and that legislation itself remains decidedly unpopular."

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