Yesterday Senator Rick Santorum cowered away from the nuclear option, admitting that the Republicans' own polling showed their voters to overwhelmingly oppose the measure. Today, the AP's Jesse J. Holland and David Espo have the results of that poll for everyone to see.

Private Republican polling shows scant support for a plan to stop minority Democrats from blocking judicial nominees, officials said Thursday, as two of President Bush's most controversial appointments advanced toward a possible Senate confrontation.

These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a recent survey taken for Senate Republicans showed 37 percent support for the GOP plan to deny Democrats the ability to filibuster judicial nominees, while 51 percent oppose.

Additionally, the survey indicated only about 20 percent of Americans believe the Republican statement that Bush is the first president in history whose court appointees have been subjected to a filibuster, a tactic in which opponents can prevent a vote unless supporters gain 60 votes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, noting the survey data has not been made public.

The Republicans can't even win a majority to their side in biased polls written by their own strategists? They can't get more than 20% on their push poll question of whether judicial filibusters had a precedent (a low figure regardless of the fact that there is precedent).

This poll can't make wavering members more likely to support the measure. Republican Senators Sununu of New Hampshire, DeWine of Ohio, Warner of Virginia, Collins of Maine, Smith of Oregon, and Specter of Pennylvania -- all of whom represent "purple" states and none of whom have come out in support of the nuclear option -- can't be reassured by these numbers.

It's becoming less and less clear that Bill Frist will be able to whip up the necessary 50 votes for the nuclear option. If he does, the Senate will be shut down by the Dems; if he doesn't, GOP control will be weakened and Frist's shot at the White House will be done. The stakes simply could not be higher for the GOP right now, and though this is what they have wanted for some time, no outcome looks particularly appealing for them now.