Views about the next court nominee.(Opinion Pulse)

Americans want the next Supreme Court nominee to have political views that are more conservative than liberal. They want the Court to give states more authority than the federal government. Views on whether the Constitution should be adapted to current fashions depend on what the pollsters emphasize in the wording of the questions. Seventy-two percent say it is unacceptable for a senator to vote on confirmation solely based on a nominee's views of abortion. Still, people want to know what that position is.

 
Question: When the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice retires, would 
you like the person nominated to fill that vacancy on the 
Supreme Court to be ...? 
 
Very conservative          20% 
Somewhat conservative      36 
Somewhat liberal           28 
Very liberal                9 
 
Source: AP/Ipsos Public Affairs, September 2004. 
 
Question: Do you think the next person nominated to join the 
U.S. Supreme Court should be someone who...? 
 
Favors giving state                   56% 
governments more authority 
than the federal government 
 
Favors giving the federal             31 
government more authority 
than state government 
 
Tries to follow the                   60% 
original intent of the 
U.S. Constitution 
 
Tries to follow an                    34  ...