REpublican presidents without a doubt have picked the worse people. I wouldn’t go with the Bork analogy.
I go with the picks themselves.
Look at them.
John Paul Stevens by Gerald Ford
Sandra Day O’Conner by Reagan
Kennedy by Reagan
John Roberts by Bush
Wasn’t Souter a GOP pick too?
The Dems pick ideologues, the Republicans pick compromises. It really isn’t much more complicated than that. Although, I will say that Gorsuch may have broken that mold. Time will tell.