FTN: Approval Down, Obama "In a Pickle"

After passing health care reform and signing the bill into law, President Barack Obama has suffered a drop in approval in the past week. A CBS News poll shows that Mr. Obama's approval rating has dropped to 44 percent. Before health care passed, Mr. Obama's approval was at 49 percent.

The new number is Mr. Obama's lowest yet.

Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson told "Face the Nation" anchor Bob Schieffer that Mr. Obama is "in a pickle."

Dyson said that Mr. Obama "has to recognize he's governing all of America, has to give in and make concessions […] and head toward the middle as he's done after winning a perceived left victory [in health care]."

He added, "The reality is [Mr. Obama]'s trying to balance it out. He doesn't want to give in to the 'Tea Party,' but he sees legitimate points and anger and has to govern according to a vision for which he was called to office which is to say reform health care and student loans.

"He had a heck of a week when you look at it in real terms - the guy had a great week - and [he's] suffering, polls declining. It's a give-and-take, and some of us leaning to the left wish he might make more grand overtures, but he's trying to govern through the middle."

The question of whether or not Mr. Obama now has the power to get anything done in Washington has been lingering all week, especially since the news of the drop in approval rating.

CBS News Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes says that while Republicans may be loath to "help" Mr. Obama politically by backing parts of his agenda - and are emboldened by the latest polls - Democrats think financial regulatory reform may be another winner for them.

Cordes said the issue is a challenge for the GOP: "They're kind of in a bind because on one hand they have serious issues with the Democrats' plan working through the Senate right now, but on the other hand they don't want to come across as the the partners of the Wall Street fat cat.

"In the end they think the legislation will pass," Cordes said. "Democrats are feeling good about that because they feel they will get Republican votes in the House - they think they could pick up several dozen votes in the House - and Republicans tell us that's probably on-target."

Sunday's New York Times and Washington Post also had stories about Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and his decision to retire sometime during Mr. Obama's presidency.

Another guest on "Face the Nation" was CBS News Chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who told Schieffer that the White House is ready for a confirmation battle, and would prefer to have it sooner rather than later - before their Senate alliances weaken.

"[J]ustices don't like to retire during an election season. They don't want to inject the court into politics," Crawford said.

"The White House is ready for this. Remember, they went through this last year when they replaced Justice Souter and have a good working short list. They looked at these nominees. They've got a pretty good working short list. If they want a fight now's the time to have it. They've got a solid majority in the Senate. They're going to lose, probably, four to six votes in the upcoming midterm. So if they want a fight, now's the time to have it."

She listed nominees that she thought could get through the approval process without a major fight.

"Elena Kagan, former dean of Harvard Law School," said Crawford. "She's the current solicitor general. She represents the United States in the Supreme Court. She's very qualified. And some conservatives really like her. She hired a lot of conservatives at Harvard Law School."

Also, "You've got Merrick Garland, a judge here on the D.C. Circuit, considered a moderate on some criminal issues. He would be a very, I think, easy confirmation for the White House. But there are a lot of voices for another woman, and that points us to Judge Diane Wood on the Chicago Federal Appeals Court. She would probably be the biggest fight, because, out there in the heartland, that's where you get a lot of those controversial abortion cases, and so she's sat on a few of those."

Another name that came up is Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who Crawford thought was an intriguing possibility, but a difficult choice politically.

"She's a really impressive person," said Crawford. "She's got prosecutorial experience, and people are always clamoring for someone off the judicial monastery. This court's got all former federal appeals court judges.

"But she is a Democrat from a state with a Republican governor [Tim Pawlenty], and so if you're thinking politically about who you're going to put on the court, and certainly Obama did last time with Sonia Sotomayor, [Klobuchar]'s not the one you."

Pawlenty could appoint a Republican to fill Klobuchar's vacant Senate seat, said Crawford, and the White House wouldn't want that.