Good Reactions For Sotomayor

According to a new Gallup poll, Americans like President Obama's decision to nominate Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court: 47 percent rate Sotomayor as an "excellent" or "good" pick; 20 percent rate her as "only fair"; 13 percent, "poor"; and 20 percent have no opinion.

Meanwhile, a Rasmussen poll finds the public in support of Sotomayor's confirmation 45 percent to 29 percent, with 26 percent unsure. 87 percent think she will be confirmed, according to Rasmussen.

Gallup finds Sotomayor as more popular than President Bush's two previous nominees, Samuel Alito and Harriet Miers, and slightly less popular than John Roberts.

Sotomayor will likely be confirmed by the Democratic Senate, barring any unforeseen revelations about her, but criticism of Sotomayor has focused heavily on race thusfar, and Gallup's polling spoke to that a bit, as respondents said Sotomayor's gender and race were not as important to President Obama in his selection than her experience as a federal judge, her intellect, and her views on major issues and past decisions:

Most notably, Newt Gingrich and former Rep. Tom Tancredo have accused Sotomayor of racism, charging that if she were a white male, Sotomayor would be essentially disqualified if she had made a comment similar to her 2001 remark that she "would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic on the Court; along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she would be one of two women sitting the court.