GALLUP: Michelle Obama’s Favorable Rating (72%) Eclipses Her Husband’s

[jefferson_dem]

Michelle Obama’s Favorable Rating Eclipses Her Husband’s

Both president and first lady are quite popularUSAFavorabilityGovernment and PoliticsPresidential RatingsThe PresidencyAmericas

Northern Americaby Jeffrey M. JonesPRINCETON, NJ -- Americans have very positive impressions of both President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. But in the latest Gallup Poll, Mrs. Obama receives a slightly better favorable rating, 72% to 69%.



While the three percentage-point difference between the two favorable ratings is not statistically significant, Michelle Obama's much lower unfavorable ratings compared with the president's (17% vs. 28%) give her the clear edge in public favorability.

These results are based on a March 27-29 Gallup Poll. Compared to the last time Gallup asked Americans for their basic views of the Obamas -- in January, just before Inauguration Day -- Mrs. Obama's rating has improved, while her husband's has gone down. But the president's 78% favorable rating in January -- perhaps inflated by the excitement about his pending inauguration -- ranks among the highest Gallup has recorded since it began measuring popularity using this format in 1992. So even as his rating has settled down to 69%, he remains very popular.



It is not uncommon for first ladies to be more popular than their husbands, in terms of either their favorable ratings or their job approval ratings. To illustrate, Laura Bush averaged a 71% favorable rating from 2001-2009, compared to George W. Bush's 56% average. The greater popularity of first ladies likely reflects that their role is far less controversial than that of the president, which often results in less partisan ratings of the first lady.

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http://www.gallup.com/poll/117232/Michelle-Obama-Favorable-Rating-Eclipses-Husband.aspx

[glowing]

1. Wow, who wrote that? avg 52% approval rate of shrub. that is soo dishonest.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. That happens when you count his whole term.

A ) His numbers are inflated by the massive 90% approval rating he held for a couple of months after 9/11.
B ) His numbers spiked again the month or so after the United States invaded Iraq.
C ) His numbers at the beginning of his first term were generally in the mid-50s.

That probably balanced out his awful second term approval ratings.

[Jennicut]

3. Prez Obama is up to 69%?! Wow.

Michelle is extremely likable.