Michelle Obama: Defining the first lady

by Mark Silva

In her short time on the national stage, Michelle Obama may have gone a long way to redefine the role of the first lady.

President Barack Obama promised "change.''

Michelle Obama represents it - according to 44 percent of those surveyed nationally by the Marist Poll less than two months after the Obamas took control of the West and East Wings of the White House l. Only 31 percent said the new first lady has yet to make her mark.

While striving to strike a balance between the privacy of her home life - with two young daughters, and her mother as well, in the White House - and her command of the East Wing, the first lady has reached out to several federal agencies with a personal "thank you'' tour and planted a garden on the South Lawn. She has starred on a European stage, and hosted an Easter Egg roll.

Many of those surveyed - 41 percent - say Michelle Obama is improving the way that people view that balance of private and public lives. Just 35 percent say she has not yet influenced the public's perspective.

Sensing a trend here: Perhaps about one-third of the public still can't get used to the fact that Obama is president and his wife first lady?

There are still some who would rather see Michelle Obama follow in the footsteps of some of her predecessors: 21 percent say she ought to behave more like Jacqueline Kennedy, 18 percent name Eleanor Roosevelt and just 16 percent name Hillary Clinton, who, of course, happens to have a new and much bigger job than first lady in the Obama administration, and 15 percent name Nancy Reagan.

(Among the first lady's roles this week: Rolling out the new first puppy, Bo. Photo by Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images.)

The views fall along party lines - what a surprise: 72 percent of the Democrats surveyed say the first lady is having a positive effect on the role she plays. Far fewer Republicans surveyed -- 20 percent -- view her as changing things for the better, though few - just 7 percent - say she has set things back.

"Younger voters and women are more positive towards Michelle Obama than are their counterparts,'' Marist reports. " Half of Americans under 45 years old and the same proportion of women say Mrs. Obama is improving the post of first lady. That's compared with 39 percent of residents 45 years of age and older and only 36 percent of men.

"Michelle Obama has made it clear that she is an advocate for balancing work and family life, and 41percent of U.S. residents agree she is improving the way people view that balance,'' Marist reports. "Just 4 percent believe she has hindered understanding of the issue.

"Again, Democrats are in her corner. 64 percent of Democrats think Michelle Obama is drawing positive attention to the issue of work-life balance compared with 33 percent of Independents and 25 percent of Republicans who feel this way.''

The survey of 1,128 adults was run March 9-11, before the first lady traveled to Europe with the president, and carries a possible margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.