After a widely admired start in the White House, first lady Michelle Obama's popularity is falling and, if the current downward trend in her approval ratings continues, could touch lows not seen since the scandal-tainted days of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
In the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 50 percent of those surveyed say they have a positive opinion of Mrs. Obama. That's down from 64 percent in April 2009 and 55 percent in January of this year. . . .
The survey was taken from Aug. 5-9, which happened to coincide with Mrs. Obama's vacation in Spain, where she, along with daughter Sasha and several friends, stayed in a posh five-star resort. It was a luxurious getaway for the first lady of a nation with nearly 10 percent unemployment and widespread economic anxiety, and it fed an image of extravagance that Mrs. Obama has created by, among other things, patronizing chichi restaurants and wearing $775 boots to break ground at her White House garden. A new name -- "Michelle Antoinette" -- was born. . . .
Mrs. Obama's ratings are decidedly different from predecessor Laura Bush. In December 2001, as George W. Bush's popularity soared after the 9/11 attacks, Mrs. Bush's positive rating stood at 76 percent in the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Nearly four years later, in 2005, it was 65 percent. Still later, when President Bush's job approval rating hit bottom, Mrs. Bush fell briefly to 54 percent -- still above where the current first lady is today.
For the full story see Washington Examiner.
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