Ann Romney, Michelle Obama are more popular than their husbands
Apr 30, 2012, 1:52 PM | Updated: Jun 4, 2012, 9:35 pm
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday
found that both Ann Romney and Michelle Obama net
higher favorability ratings from national polling than
their politician husbands.
The specific favorability numbers show
that Ann Romney bests Mitt, 40-35, while Michelle Obama
leads Barack by a 69-56 margin.
Looking at the points in their husbands’ presidencies when
they sought re-election, Michelle Obama’s current
favorability numbers are better than Hillary Clinton’s in
1996, comparable to Laura Bush’s in 2004, but below the
gold standard of first-lady favorability — Barbara
Bush circa 1992.
The Post detailed why Ann Romney’s “achievement” is
more historically significant than Michelle Obama’s.
“While first ladies are often more popular than their
husbands, it’s relatively atypical for a
challenger’s wife to be better liked than the
candidate himself — as Ann Romney is now. All
potential first ladies are less widely known, but only
Kitty Dukakis and Barbara Bush in 1988 and Tipper Gore in
2000 had favorable numbers comparable to their husbands,
when first measured.”
An Associated Press article published Friday explored the potential political power of
Ann Romney.
“Already, she is becoming a fundraising powerhouse and
chief aggressor in her husband’s push to court women.
President Barack Obama’s team quietly acknowledges the
threat it faces from the Romney who is sweet, unassuming
and, at times, unusually willing to share bathroom humor.
To be sure, people who know her well have long viewed her
as a political force.”
The University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics
blog recently declared that the sheer volume of Ann
Romney’s media coverage has now surpassed Michelle
Obama’s.