Poll Shows Support for Harriet Miers Lower Than John Roberts

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 5, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Poll Shows Support for Harriet Miers Lower Than John Roberts Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 5, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The first poll following President Bush’s nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to become the next Supreme Court justice finds public support at lower levels than that of newly minted Chief Justice John Roberts.

A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released last night found that pro-life advocates are not as excited about her nomination as they were about Roberts’.

The Oct. 3-4 survey found 58 percent of those who say they are conservative politically backed Miers while 77 percent supported Roberts days after his nomination was announced.

In general, Americans support Miers but cite her lack of judicial experience as a problem.

Asked to rate the president’s choice, 44 percent of those polled described it as excellent or good, some 41 percent said it was fair or poor and 15 percent had no opinion.

Just 29 percent of conservatives felt naming Miers to the high court was a fair or poor decision. Among self-described liberals, the difference between their support for Roberts and their support for Miers is negligible.

Most of those polled (74 percent) say they thought Bush picked Miers because of their long-standing working relationship during his presidency and while he was governor of Texas.

Respondents also said they want to know more about Miers and 49 percent said they would not likely support her unless they learned more about her political views. Twelve percent said knowing more would make them less likely to back her and 33 percent said it didn’t matter.

Some 55 percent of those polled say they think senators should ask Miers questions about her position on abortion, despite John Roberts’ declining to answer questions due to future Supreme Court cases. About 42 percent said they should not query Miers about abortion.

The poll found Miers has good support among women, but 82 percent said they wouldn’t have been bothered if Bush had picked a man instead.

The new poll has a margin of error of size percentage points.