JEFFREY TOOBIN: I think [Jane Kelly and Sri Srinivasan] are far and away the most likely nominees by President Obama. In part because they are young by Supreme Court standards. They're both -- Jane Kelly is, I think, 51. Sri Srinivasan is 48. Both have impeccable qualifications. They are sitting serving federal judges on appellate courts. And most importantly, both were confirmed 97 to nothing. And so the argument would be, what is it about the past two years that have made all these Republican senators suddenly decide that these people are not qualified to be on the Supreme Court?

DANA BASH (HOST): Let me put to you what Senator Rubio told me earlier in the program when I asked him that question because he voted for one of them. And I said that very thing. And he said, well, it's a completely different job. It should take more time and more scrutiny. Do you buy that as somebody who knows the court the way you do?

TOOBIN: Well, the answer is the Supreme Court is a very political body just as the U.S. Senate is. The reason the Republicans don't want to vote against a Kelly or a Srinivasan or any Obama nominee is not because they're not qualified, it's because they're an Obama nominee. And you know, this is the most consequential Supreme Court vacancy in a generation, because the court has five conservatives and four liberals. The opportunity to switch the balance on the court to five liberals and four conservatives, that's what this fight is about. It's not about the qualifications. It's not about what time of year it is. It's about switching the balance on the Supreme Court.

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