Michelle Obama More Popular (And Less Disliked) Than Barack--An Amazing Rise

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

President Obama's ability to draw and inspire large crowds has drawn comparisons to rock star status. But if he were a rock star, he might consider handing over the guitar to wife Michelle, if he wanted to sell even more records. This new Gallup poll shows the first lady is more popular with Americans than her husband.

While there is a mere three percent difference between the couple's favorability ratings, Mrs. Obama's unfavorable rating of 17 percent is much lower than the president's 28 percent. Traditionally, first ladies have higher approval ratings than their husbands. After all, the presidents are the ones making tough decisions about spending and taxes and first ladies bear no such burden.

In Michelle Obama's case, though, the changeover is particularly amazing, considering some of the nasty rumors that swirled around her during President Obama's campaign. One of those was that she had written a race-baiting thesis at Princeton. Some media outlets defined her as an "angry black woman."

Another was a New Yorker magazine cover portraying the couple as a pair of terrorists.

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By Bonnie Erbe