Sorry RG, but the rules proposed by Biden do provide a precedent for the current situation.  According to the facts presented above, his statement that a Republican President should wait till after the election of his successor does capture the essential essence of the present controversy.

The RG's partisanship is highlighted by the statement "the president’s best course would be to nominate someone the Senate, including its Republican members, have already voted to confirm to a judicial position, thereby highlighting GOP obstructionism."  The RG proposes an action that highlights Republican obstructionism rather than gets a new justice on the court.

I personally believe Obama should take the high road and ask senate Republicans for a list of nominees that they could support.  If the Republicans are truly obstructionist, the list will be staunchly conservative.  It may be, however, that the list will contain compromise candidates acceptable to all.  Imagine a compromise!