No, and he’s not winning this one through his efforts. It’s a totally unforced error.
Not approving an Obama nominee would be entirely consistent with the history of nomination to the Court; pre-emptively declaring no nominee would pass and Obama shouldn’t even bother just hands the Dems the issue for November.
I think you’re overthinking it. A bloody, unsuccessful nomination battle will just turn people off. It’s okay to appear partisan in a presidential election year.