8 Reasons Michelle Obama Would Make a Better Presidential Candidate Than Her Husband

Is she actually the toughest and smartest Obama?

As with every White House Correspondent’s Dinner, at this year’s soiree the President found himself in danger of being overshadowed by even more dazzling stars in his orbit. I’m not referring to Hollywood stars like George Clooney or Kerry Washington, who were in attendance. I’m referring to his wife.

Glowing in her strapless Naeem Khan gown, First Lady Michelle Obama did what she has done since the beginning of the Obama administration: upstage her husband. Though the President was charming and funny (according to many, far funnier than the evening’s actual professional funnyman), and looked dapper decked out in his tux, he was simply no match for his Mrs.

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In a room full of some of Hollywood’s most glamorous leading ladies, the First Lady managed to steal the show, and that’s not an easy thing to do, particularly when Lindsay Lohan is wandering around bra-less. But it wasn’t the first time her star quality has outshone others’ and if her media coverage over the course of the last week is any indication, it will not be the last. A just released ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that Michelle Obama is one of the most popular political figures, of any gender or party in the nation, with 69% of Americans having a favorable opinion of her. According to ABC, “Her favorability rating is 13 points higher than her husband’s; her unfavorable score, 16 points lower.” She also scores higher than Mitt and Ann Romney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose favorability was found to be at a lifetime high. 

In what has got to be one of the greatest comebacks in political history, the woman who was once viewed as a liability on the campaign trail in 2008 is now viewed as a greater asset than her husband as he seeks re-election in 2012. The First Lady has consistently outscored her husband in popularity since he took the oath of office, and now an enterprising cub reporter has finally had the courage to ask what many of us have wondered: could she one day see herself following his footsteps, or more specifically, Hillary Clinton’s footsteps, down the path of First Lady turned presidential candidate? When asked, the First Lady replied to the cub reporter in-training (aka a little girl who was visiting the White House as part of “Take Your Daughter to Work Day"), “Absolutely not.” But there are plenty of reasons why many would be happy to see her amend that to “Absolutely.”