Poll: Gov is a good Supreme Court pick

While Michiganians saddle Gov. Jennifer Granholm with low marks for the way she has steered the recession-battered state, most figure she'd make a pretty good U.S. Supreme Court justice, according to a Detroit News/WXYZ poll.

The survey of 600 registered voters taken May 18-21 shows 51 percent say they would favor Michigan's second-term governor being appointed to the high court compared to 44 percent who say she'd be a poor choice, while six in 10 give her a negative job rating.

President Barack Obama is poised to announce his appointment to replace retiring Justice David Souter as soon as today. Much speculation has focused on Granholm as a potential pick, and she remains on most short lists along with four or five other prospects.

Poll participant Sue Barber, who was laid off from her marketing job in February, said the 50-year-old governor "would be a good justice.

"She's very bright, well-educated, an attorney. She has a genuine capacity to look at all sides of an issue and evaluate fairly," said the 65-year-old Barber of Grosse Pointe Farms.

"She has a compassion for people and she's not just a doctrinaire like some of the other justices on the court."

But Michelle Bjorklund, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mother of two from Warren, said Granholm leans too far to the left.

"She's too liberal-minded," Bjorklund said. "I would rather see someone a little more moderate on the court."

Democrats higher on pick

Democrats favored Granholm getting the nomination by a 72 percent to 24 percent margin. A nearly identical breakdown of Republican respondents said the opposite. By a 73 percent to 24 percent split they opposed such a nomination. Independent voters, by a 48 percent to 42 percent margin, favored a nomination.

Granholm, a Harvard-educated lawyer and former state attorney general and federal prosecutor, has tried to downplay reports that she's a candidate for the court and has said she intends to finish her gubernatorial term, which ends in 2010. Aides have refused to confirm whether she has been vetted by the FBI or interviewed by Obama for the seat.

Much recent attention has centered on U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Diane Wood and U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, both of whom have won confirmation in the Senate.

But Granholm is still seen by court watchers as a contender, along with Homeland Security Chief and former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor and California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno. Obama is expected to announce his nomination before leaving on an overseas trip in early June.

Rating as governor worse

It seems voters would rather see Granholm don the judicial robes than keep her job. The poll, conducted by Lansing-based EPIC/MRA, shows 61 percent of voters give Granholm a negative job rating compared to 38 percent who give her a favorable rating.

"The state of Michigan is headed downhill, and Granholm is not doing much of anything to stop it," said Robert Bickmeyer, a GM retiree from Troy who took part in the survey.

Joel Husk, a 55-year-old General Motors Corp. retiree from Orion Township, said "it's easy to criticize" Granholm because the state is mired in an economic mud pit.

But he said the fault lies more with the auto industry downturn than with Granholm.

"Because the state is so heavy in the auto industry with both manufacturers and suppliers, I don't know how much she could have helped to stop that," Husk said. "I don't know what she could have done different in Michigan."

The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

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