Gallup Poll on Miers

Mark Blumenthal blogged This morning brings a new Gallup / CNN / USA Today poll conducted Monday and Tuesday evenings (10/3-4) with reaction to the Harriet Miers nomination. Both the USAToday and CNN stories emphasize that Americans are less enthusiastic about Miers than they were of John Roberts Forty-four percent (44%) rate her an excellent or good choice, 41% rate her only fair or poor. By comparison, 51% rated Roberts excellent or good just after his nomination, 34% only fair or poor.

The in-depth Gallup summary (available to non-subscribers today only) reveals the usual partisan polarization. Republicans overwhelmingly approve Miers (72% positive, 16% negative, 12% don't know),

72% positive is really very good. Approval in the Right Side of the Blogosphere is not nearly that high

Democrats disapprove (24% positive, 62% negative, 14% don't know). CNN adds similar results by ideology, but with an important twist: Conservatives were nineteen percentage points happier about Roberts (77% positive, 13% negative) than Miers (58% positive, 29% negative). The difference is big enough that it suggests to MP that liberals and moderates are reacting to Miers much as they did to Roberts. Only self described conservatives appear to be significantly less enthusiastic.

CaliforniaYankee blogged The findings concerning the nominee's gender are more interesting:

Most people, 66%, are neither positive nor negative about the fact that Miers is a woman. But 29% say her gender makes them more likely to support her candidacy, while just 5% say it makes them less likely to support her. A separate question finds that only 18% of Americans would have been upset if Bush had not nominated a woman.

In my conversations with friends and associates about the Miers nomination, I have noticed that women are much less likely to object to the nomination than men. This trend may be widespread. Gallup reports women are nearly twice as likely than men to be impressed with Miers because she is a woman.

Nineteen percent of men say her gender makes them more likely to support her, compared with 37% of women who feel that way.

The most ironic trend I found in my discussions, is that some of my more liberal friends are supportive of Miers simply because so many "conservatives" are upset about the nomination.