CHICAGO — The story of Michelle Obama’s first 100 days begins 10 months ago.
Barack Obama had clinched the Democratic nomination and was the presidential front-runner in June, but Americans still had reservations about his wife. Her approval rating hovered around 43 percent, a politically troubling number stemming from questions about her patriotism and relatively low profile before the campaign.
Even the fist bump she gave her husband rankled some.
Then the great image rehabilitation began.
Michelle Obama appeared in an affordable sundress on “The View.” She danced on “Ellen.” Her brother outed her as a “Brady Bunch” fan before she gave a convention speech about her middle- class upbringing in Chicago. Her new everymom persona slowly supplanted images of an unpatriotic Michelle, who once said she wasn’t proud of her country until her husband’s candidacy.
For the past 10 months, Michelle Obama has sidestepped controversy, and the public sees her in a better light. Her approval ratings have steadily increased, rising to 72 percent in a recent Gallup poll and now surpassing her husband.
Sweaters that she wears sell out instantly online. London schoolgirls wept in her presence. And she has graced the covers of Vogue and Essence.
Her success, in part, stems from her willingness to follow a more established path as first lady. She maintains an office in the East Wing, instead of the West Wing as Hillary Rodham Clinton did; she has not sat in on Cabinet meetings like Rosalynn Carter or launched a major policy initiative.
Michelle Obama did indicate that she would focus on issues facing military families during her husband’s presidency, but she has made only one high-profile appearance on their behalf.
Instead of shaping policy, Michelle Obama has busied herself with things such as visiting local schools and inviting the Cabinet members’ spouses for lunch. Her activities, however, rarely seem staid in part because of the fresh twist she gives them, historians say. The Easter Egg Roll, for example, focused on healthy living with yoga classes in addition to the traditional roll.
“Americans are happiest with a first lady who’s a half-generation behind,” says Stacy Cordery, who teaches history at Monmouth College and serves as bibliographer for the National First Ladies’ Library. “Michelle Obama has embraced the traditional role while giving it a modern take. It’s brilliant.”
