Steve Roberts ABC News - January 31, 2022 - KRDO’s Morning News

Steve says the retirement of Justice Breyer could be a political opportunity for President Biden, whose approval rating has now slumped to an average of 41%. Nominating a Black woman, as he's promised, would solidify support among the Democratic party's single most loyal voting group (Black women backed Biden 9 to 1 in 2020). It would also provide the president with the chance to change the subject away from his legislative failures and post a critical win that should unify a party that's been showing cracks lately, and he gets to crystallize the argument that elections have consequences. But there are risks: loyal Biden ally Representative James Clyburn is pushing hard for Judge Michele Childs, a fellow South Carolinian, and a failure to pick her could cause a rift. And if he does not unify Democrats and his pick is somehow defeated, Biden’s leadership credentials – already badly damaged – could suffer a fatal blow. Plus, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds that a plurality of Americans view the Supreme Court as motivated by partisanship, while President Joe Biden’s campaign trail vow to select a Black woman to fill a high-court vacancy without reviewing all potential candidates evokes a sharply negative reaction from voters. Just over three-quarters of Americans (76%) want Biden to consider “all possible nominees.” 23% want him to automatically follow through on his history-making commitment that the White House seems keen on seeing through. Steve breaks it all down for you.