TYT: Why Does Michelle Obama Only Have A 24% Approval Rating With White People?

[ihavenobias]

By Cenk Uygur

In the latest , I think one number has been over looked. Michelle Obama has a stunningly low approval rating with white people. Only 24% of white Americans have a favorable view of her.

That's George Bush like numbers. That's almost in Dick Cheney territory. I don't get it. What did she ever do to anybody?

She seems like an exemplary wife and mother. She is a hard working and accomplished American. What is it about her that is so off-putting to white Americans? I am sincerely puzzled.

I have a terrible answer. It's an answer I can't quite believe is true - and I don't want to believe is true. But I don't see a reasonable alternative explanation. .

I hope I'm wrong. But I can't see what else it could be. What in the world is wrong with her? Absolutely nothing. Strong, smart, likeable, caring. Maybe she's too strong. I am sure there are people out there who want women who are less vocal. This might be the same crowd who hated Hillary Clinton.

And, of course, there are a variety of factors that go into any phenomenon like this. There are also the people who are offended by her out of context comments on how this is the first time she's proud of her country. That seems to make people really mad. Though they didn't seem that angered when .

Do we honestly believe that most Americans would question Cindy McCain's patriotism if she said the same exact thing as Michelle Obama? I think no one would have even noticed it. You can't question Cindy McCain's patriotism - she's white, blond and has blue eyes. Obviously, she's a patriotic American. If you think that doesn't make a difference in people's perception, you're crazy or not being honest with yourself.

By the way, Barack Obama didn't do that much better with white folks, which is also disconcerting. He only had a 30% approval rating. But I get that. He's running for president and there are many things you can legitimately like or dislike about any candidate. And it's perfectly reasonable to believe that approval rating is connected to his stance on the issues. But candidates' wives tend to do better than the candidate. They don't have as much political baggage and it's hard to say you don't like someone's wife for what appears to be no apparent reason. I haven't seen the last numbers on it, but I'd be surprised if Laura Bush isn't doubling her husband in popularity.

Even if you were to grant all of the arguments against Michelle, it still wouldn't explain a popularity rating in line with George W. Bush. How could she be less popular than the most unpopular president in US history? That doesn't make any sense.

I think America needs to look in the mirror and figure out what its problem is. I honestly can't see anything wrong with Michelle Obama. Some might consider me biased, but I'm trying to look at this thing objectively. I understood why Hillary Clinton's ambition rubbed people the wrong way (even if I didn't agree with that sentiment). I understood why some didn't like Teresa Heinz Kerry, because she was eccentric, hard charging and had an accent. None of these reasons are legitimate, but I get them. With Michelle Obama, there is so little to legitimately, or illegitimately, dislike. That's why I'm left with the main explanation of race.

We need to try to come to terms with the prejudice that I think is lurking beneath the surface. I'm not sure people even recognize that they dislike Michelle Obama. I think it's something more instinctual than rational. That instinct is what we need to explore. Because I don't think this is her problem, I think it's our problem. To paraphrase George Costanza, it's not her, it's us.
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[Bill McBlueState]

1. What's her disapproval number?

Both her approval and disapproval numbers might be pretty low, if a lot of people are answering "don't know / no opinion"

Without that information, it's hard to draw a conclusion.

[ihavenobias]

4. This link is blocked for me now (long story) but you should be able to view it

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/us/politics/16poll.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

It's also a hyperlink at the start of the article.

[Bill McBlueState]

18. I had to download the full poll results, but here are the numbers

From page 13 of
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20080716_POLL.pdf:

Is your opinion of Michelle Obama favorable, not favorable,
undecided, or haven't you heard enough about Michelle Obama
yet to have an opinion?

For all respondents
Favorable..............29
Not Favorable..........16
Undecided..............17
Haven't Heard Enough...37
Refused to Answer.......1

White
Favorable..............24
Not Favorable..........19
Undecided..............17
Haven't Heard Enough...38
Refused to Answer.......1

Black
Favorable..............58
Not Favorable...........1
Undecided..............13
Haven't Heard Enough...27
Refused to Answer.......1

So among white people, "Favorable" is beating
"Not Favorable" by 5 points.  But most white people
say they need more information. 

[ihavenobias]

24. It's troubling that Michelle's 'not favorable' rating is so much higher than Cindy's n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

40. true

Cindy's obviously trying very hard to "look the part" in a way that will appeal to white people with old-timey ideas about the role of a wife. I find it revolting, myself. I'm waiting for her skin to melt off and reveal her shiny metal interior.

[Gormy Cuss]

94. Thanks for posting the link.

My initial reaction to the OP excerpt was to wonder how sizable the undecided block was. Both wives have pretty high rates of "haven't heard enough" ratings.

I noticed that Michelle O's positive rating climbed by seven points since the 4/25 poll and her unfavorable rating hasn't move. That's a step in the right direction. Cindy Mc's rating hasn't budged in the same time frame.

[Common Sense Party]

98. Why does John McCain only have a 5% approval from black people?

Is that, as some suggest is the case with whites' approval of Michelle Obama, also a result of racism?

If not, why not?

[Atman]

2. We're afraid of strong women in general. BLACK strong women...yikes.

I think Michelle is absolutely awesome. But as a people, Americans still have serious issues.

.

[aspergris]

36. on the completley opposite side of the political aisle and what about Oprah

is condi rice

is there any polling to determine HER favorability rating amongst whites?

making a determination that race is the factor based on ONE data point (michelle obama) is specious.

at least if we had 2, that would be a little better.

fwiw, last i checked, oprah - who is undeniably a Strong Black Woman has incredibly high approval #'s amongst whites

so, drawing a conclusion based on one data point imo is ridiculous.

it MAY be right, but there's hardly evidence to support the conclusion

[Rosa Luxemburg]

53. I was just going to say Oprah but they think she's OK where she is on TV

the problem with racist Whites is that they can't get over the fact that some Black people are now better than them (more successful, positions of power etc.). Those Whites are dyed in the wool and think that Black people have a place in society that is being shot at, dealing drugs and only live in poor neighborhoods, which is ludicrous. I heard a story recently when a Black family (the man works for the US govt) moved in the neighbors kept calling the cops because the son kept tslking to his high school mates on the front lawn. These Whites will not accept a Black person or his wife in the White House unfortunately.

[aspergris]

57. that's great

but oprah isn't "just on tv"

this woman is so influential that she can influence what people READ.

in a nation where getting people to read decent literature is almost as hard as getting them off their fat arses

oprah says "read this book" and literally MILLIONs of people, many of them white, do so.

she is certainly more powerful than michelle obama is. heck, even once obama becomes president, she will arguably be less powerful than oprah

and condi rice was certainly an immensely popular figure for YEARS now and held very high approval rating.

I am sorry. this dog don't hunt. this assumption that because michelle obama (one person) has these ratings, that it's attributable to racism.

let's say arnold has 20% approval ratings (i have no idea what his ratings are . just an example). should i then conclude that americans are xenophobic and biased against muscle because arnold has an austrian accent and muscularity?

there's pretty good data that michelle obama's race is rather incidental and scant data that its dispositive to white people's opinion of her

[ihavenobias]

59. Sure she has influence, but not presidential influence. Obviously Michelle doesn't either, but

it's about perception.

She's married to the man that might become the next president of the United States. In the eyes of many, that puts her in a special category that clearly has more influence than someone on television, even if logically the person on television has much more influence in a sense.

Besides which, the article specifically says there are SEVERAL factors that go into this. The author thinks race is the primary reason (which you can disagree with) but NOT the only reason.

The End

[aspergris]

61. the author

starts with his prejudiced conclusion and cherry picks and uses specious logic to support that

in general, i love young turks, but this is just ridiculous

it's about as logical as hillary's sexism claims.

again, there is not sufficient evidence to believe race is the reason, and numerous counterexamples that conflict with his conclusion

sorry, this dog don't hunt

finis

[ihavenobias]

80. Important Update(!)

()

IMPORTANT UPDATE -- As a number of you have pointed out in the comments below, the way The New York Times framed this poll was . They left out the number of people who said they were "Undecided" (17%) or "Haven't Heard Enough" (38%) about Michelle Obama. That makes a world of difference. Even the writer of the story has now .

But it's also my bad, I should have looked into it further because the 24% approval rating is far too low for it to make any sense, hence, my bewilderment in the post above. It turns out there is no good reason to dislike this lovely woman as much as people genuinely dislike George W. Bush. Finally, this mitigates but does not vitiate my race point. I am relieved to see it's not as bad as I was worried about based on the misleading number, but it is certainly still something to keep an eye out for.

[aspergris]

86. it's also something I mentioned previously

and is another factor within the ONE data point to consider

[Rosa Luxemburg]

79. if Oprah was a candidate?

I think things would change

[aspergris]

87. Michelle Obama is NOT a candidate

Any more than pickles teresa kerry or hillary (take 1) was

[Rosa Luxemburg]

96. edit

wife of candidate - 1st lady to be!

[SteveM]

78. Making a lot out of 19% who view unfavorably...

What about the 55% who haven't heard enough or are undecided? To say nothing of the twenty-some-odd who view her favorably? Pretty thing gruel for a "racism" argument.

Personally, I think Michelle looks like a black Mary Tyler Moore.

[aspergris]

88. and she can "turn the world on with a smile" n/t

[SteveM]

95. Boy, I'll say! That 19% is just jealous, I say, jealous! (nt)

[fascisthunter]

3. Why? Because of her skin color

good gawd.... oh and of course she's a strong woman too.

Ignorance

[aspergris]

37. rubbish

you can use one data point to "prove anything"

oprah is a strong black woman

and immensely popular.

so, therefore white people love strong black woman

see the hole in your logic?

one data point proves exactly jack.

it's more of the same crap that hillary proved claiming all the sexism crap, when in fact it was her awful campaign and the fact that obama is vastly superior as a candidate.

people who assume its racism in re michelle obama are using their own prejudices to support their preconceived notions.

and ignoring data.

[fascisthunter]

44. sure... sure

it's all just bullshit

[aspergris]

46. i'll rely on data

you can rely on prejudice if it suits you.

[fascisthunter]

47. What prejudice and what data are you talking about?

you come off half-cocked without any data to back yourself up. A bit over the top.... seem a bit sensitive about this. Maybe I should then accuse you of being a sensitive bigot trying to project prejudice yourself. Sound fair to you....?

[aspergris]

49. I rely on data

iow, i don't draw CONCLUSIONS without data.

you, and many others have. that's called prejudice. you have prejudged, and rely on ONE DATA POINT to draw a conclusion.

iow, i am not saying NOT X

I am saying you don't have the data to conclude X.

iow, i'm not makign a conclusion. i;m saying your conclusion is poorly drawn, and not supported by evidence.

do you understand the difference? it's analytical reasoning 101.

and like i said, not only do you rely on one data point, but you IGNORE obvious counterexamples, such as oprah

that's prejudice pure and simple. ignoring contrary evidence, and jumping to conclusions about race based on A data point.

[fascisthunter]

50. YOU DON'T HAVE DATA

put up or shut up.

[aspergris]

52. that's the frigging poitn

I haven't DRAWN a conclusion

because there is a dearth of data.

you HAVE.

that's prejudice.

thank you for (unknowingly) establishing my point.

I have offered conflicting data to your ONE data point, to wit Oprah and condi.

your searing logic is to tell me to shut up.

I am awed by your concise logic and clear thinking.

specifically, there are 3 easily available data points, off the top of my head

1) michelle obama
2) oprah
3) condi

only data point supports your conclusion

2 and 3 don't support your conclusion

note i am NOT saying that 2 and 3 prove the opposite of your conclusion. imo, that would also be relying on a dearth of data.

but they certainly show your conclusion to be poorly drawn and prejudiced.

hth

[ihavenobias]

56. I think you're mixing different data points

Oprah has a television show, i.e. she is an entertainer.

Condi has a high level position in government but she's not so incredibly closely tied (and never was) with someone running for president.

[aspergris]

60. but now we are redrawing the lines

the issue was 'strong black women" and the alleged fact (lol) that racism among whites is the reason for her relatively low approval ratings

even WITHOUT the counterexamples, one disparate data point does not justify that conclusion

but oprah does NOT merely have a television show.

she is INFLUENTIAL.

when she says "read this book", people do. the oprah phenomenon has been well documented, and magazines like ebony to time have commented on how she is one of the most powerful people in the country, in regards to her influence on people.

tv is her medium. that says nothing about her power. which is immense.

you are correct that neither oprah nor condi are closely tied (well, condi is in a sense but i know what you mean) to somebody running for president

great. but that'snot the metric.

the issue is that supposedly whites don't like powerful black women. the evidence doesn't support that.

since we don't HAVE any other black women closely tied with a presidential candidate, we don't HAVE that counterexample to look at.

[fascisthunter]

58. good.... then find that "data" so we all can see it

[aspergris]

64. again

your lack of logic is strangely compelling

i have not drawn a conclusion.

you have.

thus, i am not compelled to provide data to support a conclusion i HAVE NOT DRAWN

even if you failed analytical reasoning, that point should be obvious

again, i am not claiming X or NOT X.

I am claiming there is not evidence for X, which conclusion you have prejducially drawn

i have shown data points that conflict with your conclusion.

there is not dispositive data either way, but the bulk of the data refutes your prejudiced position

example for the logically challenged

you say " bigfoot exists because i heard that some guy saw him"

i say that is not compelling evidence.

you then tell me to prove bigfoot doesn't exist.

i didn't say he DIDN'T exist. i said you are ridiculous to draw the conclusion he does based on scarce data

hth

[fascisthunter]

66. no data, no conclusion worthy of debate

thanks for trying to project your own prejudice on me. Buh bye....

[aspergris]

69. translation

you have no data, just prejudice.

wow. talk about projection

physician, heal thyself

first work on your lack of a logic chip

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

63. You've drawn the conclusion that it's not racism, with no data.

Despite it being the most plausible explanation.

[aspergris]

70. false

1) it is NOT the most plausible explanation

since i have provided 2 data points conflicting with your 1 data point.

2) for the umpteenth time

I am not saying it ISN"T racism

i am saying there is not evidence to SUPPORT the CONCLUSION that it Is racism

that is the differnece betwenn

you say X and I say Not X

you say X and I say you have not proved X, nor do you even have reasoanble reasons to conclude X

you say "bigfoot exists because some guy saw him"

I say that's not compelling evidence, and there are other data points that suggest he doesn't exist

i didn't SAY he doesn't exist.

i didn't DRAW A CONCLUSION

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

71. "Oprah" is not a data point.

It's a non-sequitor.

Just because some black people are successful, it doesn't mean other black people aren't victims of racism.

[aspergris]

73. nice dodge

the claim was that whites don't like strong black women

oprah is not merely successful.

that;s like saying attila the hun was a little aggressive

oprah IS a strong black woman. as is condi.

they are both data points that conflict with the prejudiced assumption that poor approval rating for michelle obama (not to mention the plurality don't have an opinion either way) = racism

[Common Sense Party]

99. Only 5% of blacks have a favorable opinion of McCain.

Is that racism?

[Vanje]

5. I dont get it either

but, sadly, I suspect you're right. Racism

[aspergris]

41. rubbish

then explain oprah

a strong black woman with extremely high approval #s

you can't use ONE data point, to PROVE anything general

the very idea is as ridiculous as what racists do. "oh well, that criminal was black. therefore blacks are criminals"

same logic.

or look at condi rice. her approval #'s at one point were stellar (don't know what they are now), and she is undeniably a strong black woman, albeit completely different politically from michelle obama. She's got a PhD and held the highest political office of any black woman in US history. if that aint a strong black woman, nothing is.

[ecstatic]

6. Right here on DU, some hateful people linked her to Omarosa from the Apprentice

They called her "Obamarosa." Funny. NOT.

They view all black women in a negative light. Especially ones who don't fit their stereotypes.

[madokie]

7. The Press

[On the Road]

8. I Blelieve That 24%

excludes the 80% that have no opinion or don't know enough about her. That puts it in a different framework.

[johnnie]

9. Probably because of that bullshit rumor about the tape of her

The tape where she supposedly was talking about white people that turned out to just be some nasty rumor done repuke style.

You have to remember that a large percentage of voters do all their political research via email spam crap these days.

[abelenkpe]

10. polls are bogus

They didn't ask me what I thought of her. I think she's a great role model. A strong woman and good mother. The media just prints this kind of crap to create drama.

[beam me up scottie]

11. Have you seen any of the hatE-mails making their way through cyberspace?

Many are being circulated by so-called Democrats.

There are no words to describe how revolted I am.

[ihavenobias]

14. I have, which is why

.

[beam me up scottie]

20. Thanks for the great resource.

I will use it when I think I can reach the sender but many of the morans are beyond education.
These are the kind of racists who think that all white people share their prejudice, like it comes to us naturally.

[ihavenobias]

22. Well, here's another resource (not for smears, in general) that might be of more use with you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6430781

This one is effective with low-info voters that view themselves as "moderate" or "independent". Die-hard conservatives will try to argue (with no facts of their own) but they're hopeless.

[beam me up scottie]

32. Those are fantastic!

Thank you, every single asshole who sends me these makes less than 50K a year.

I usually speak to their wallet, other than bright shiny objects it's the only way to get their attention.

[cobalt1999]

12. What's her numbers compared to Hillary back in 1990 and

Gore's & Kerry's wife?

None of them had high approval ratings.

[pleah]

21. I was thinking the same thing.

All of them are very strong outspoken women. The rethugs hate that.
I think Michele will make a wonderful First Lady.

[nancyr]

13. Racism.

It's an unfortunate fact.

[Seen the light]

15. Subconsciously, I think it might be the "Sherry Palmer" effect for at least a handful of people

I'm sure the number of people that think this can't amount to many, but I know some people that say that Senator Obama reminds them of David Palmer from 24. Conversely, Michelle Obama reminds them of Palmer's traitorous evil wife Sherry.

Of course, I probably know more 24 fans than most on DU and I'm sure this isn't a widespread problem. Just thought I would throw it out there.

By the way, I love Michelle and I think she would make a fantastic First Lady.

[wellst0nev0ter]

16. Mooks.

If you look at the complete poll results (question 20) you'll find that white people have an even LESS favorable rating of Cindy McCain (20 percent) than Michelle Obama (24 percent).

So where are all the stories saying how white people hate a rich, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman? Well, the truth is that not enough voters have heard enough about the two women to have a definite opinion about them, so it's just more anthills.

[ihavenobias]

19. Except that Michelle's "not favorable" rating is almost 3 times as high as Cindy's among whites

PS---

[Liberal Gramma]

77. Now, there's a mystery!

Cindy McCain is a pill-popping over the hill Barbie doll lookalike, nothing to admire at all. Michelle is a smart, charismatic, caring woman, a great mother and a successful professional woman. I know which one I'd rather be like.

[wellst0nev0ter]

90. What? 19 Percent?

That's pretty good, since most whites vote Republican anyways. It still stands that most of the voters just don't know enough about them to have a definite opinion.

[noamnety]

17. I think you are right

We've had media stereotypes of "The Angry Black Woman" and black people in general as a threat pushed on us for so long that many many people have internalized that image. I've seen studies before where white people are more likely to interpret a black person's face with a neutral expression as angry. I can't find that study now, but I found these:

The participants better perceived the emotions in White and Asian faces and not in Black faces, (i.e., although Asian and Black faces were both ethnically foreign to the White participants, they reacted to Asian faces more like they reacted to White faces than they did toward Black faces).

http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=news_111405c

In one, the volunteers sat at computers and classified the photographs by race at the same time as they classified words flashing on the screen as either "good" or "bad."

When they take this "implicit association test," Professor Banaji said, many Americans (most whites and half of blacks) are measurably quicker to associate positive words like joy, love and peace with whites and negative words like cancer, bomb and devil with blacks.

The responses are outside conscious control, Professor Banaji said.

http://www.davidberreby.com/node/7917

[supernova]

23. Looks like the charitable version

is that most people say they don't know her well enough yet. Understandable since he's only been the nominee for a couple of months and unofficially at that. What were Hillary's numbers at this same stage in '92? If you compare Michelle's numbers and Hillary's numbers then you might find more meaning than just a snapshot of now.

We feel we know her so well because we've been following them since New Hampshire. We've gotten used to her. But that's the difference between people who like politics and people who don't.

Most people, most white people even, don't pay attention to politics until late summer anyway.

[ihavenobias]

25. That's a reasonable point. BTW, I know some acquaintances and co-workers who dislike Michelle

for no good reason.

I'm not pretending that my small slice of reality represents the entire country by any means, but it's still troubling to me. Two of these people are (white) women who plan on voting for Obama. They say that something about her just rubs them the wrong way.

I've tried to press them on this but that's all they can say about it. And no, it's not just those two that I'm aware of.

[supernova]

26. Oh, I'm not saying

there probably isn't some racism. Sure there is.

But for larger trends, I'm willing to attribute it to her being so new to the public stage at this point.

In Michelle's favor, she hasn't been put in the position of trying to defend her man's personal peccadilloes and her reactions to them the way Hillary had to right out of the gate. That was guaranteed to tee people off.

[Adarlene]

31. She's successful, tall and beautiful....

What's not to hate for a jealous, fat white woman... LOL

I'm a skinny white woman btw and I think Michelle is fabulous!

Please, please, please America! Vote for Obama -- your country needs him so very badly... I listened to him speak at the Steelworkers convention in Vegas -- the man CARES about working Americans.

[kiva]

85. And we know that those who dislike Michelle Obama

are all "jealous, fat white women" because?

[Adarlene]

91. because there is absolutely NO

reason for anyone to dislike this woman. Was the only "reason" I could come up with... sorry if I offended anyone... geez.

[Alter Ego]

27. It neglects to mention that something like 65% don't have an opinion.

[ihavenobias]

84. See post # 80 n/t

[seaglass]

28. Yes, your bias has prevented you from seeing. If you can understand

the dislike for Hillary (when Bill was running) and understand the dislike for Theresa but can't understand dislike for Michelle then you are biased.

The default to racism for explaining things you don't understand is just lazy and sad.

Especially when Michelle's favorability ratings among whites are higher than her unfavorability ratings. More people didn't know enough about her to decide whether they liked her or not - comparing her ratings to Bush (whom EVERYONE knows) is ridiculous.

[kiva]

30. I agree, she's a strong woman and that's never played well

with Americans. Although everyone pays lips service to the idea that women play an equal role in society, first ladies who step out of the role of wife/helpmate/mother get bruised--anyone remember Hillary's cookie moment? I agree that this says a lot more about voters' sexism than racism.

[ihavenobias]

34. I'll pass that along to Cenk, maybe he'll address it on air

I think your framing was unnecessarily harsh and a bit over the top ("lazy and sad" for example) but I am curious to see what he thinks of the substance behind it, mostly the last point about everyone knowing Bush.

As for the "understand" point, he clearly said they were not legitimate reasons (maybe you missed that part).

[seaglass]

74. No idea who Cenk is. Normally when other people's words

are posted it's limited to 3 paragraphs (fair use).

The numbers for the poll were posted above. 38% said they did not know enough about Michelle to rate her favorable or not - that is a higher percentage than her favorability or unfavorability ratings. On the other hand I'd say we're at pretty close to 100% of the people in the US knowing who the hell Bush is and what he has done - comparing Michelle and Bush's favorability ratings is apples/oranges.

The bias I was speaking of was not bias against Hillary/Theresa but the author's bias for Michelle that did not allow him to see how others may view her. He gave 2 examples of strong, professional women who had been in the exact same position Michelle is in now and were also disliked yet instead of exploring/analyzing similarities he defaulted to the EASY way out - racism.
That is not to say that there couldn't be a racial component in that 19% unfavorable but without evidence and without looking at other factors that may be in play it can't just be assumed.

[ihavenobias]

81. See post # 80 n/t

[pleah]

29. I think it involves a several different things.

The press, racism and many just probably don't know enough about her yet to form an opinion.

I personally think she is beautiful, strong and smart. She will make a wonderful First Lady.

[JimmyJubes]

33. Racism, inner racism and media

I don't feel like breaking it down. But Iowan and other females who met her and got to know her loved her just like they do Clinton and every other strong woman who the media shoots down to get their racist and chauanist ratings up.
Which is why I stress again he should pick Clinton for Vice President and get that woman vote and show what they did to Clinton and Michelle.

[grace0418]

35. Racism + sexism + fear + ignorance + lies spread by RW media.

I think she's fabulous myself but Americans in general continue to surprise me with their ignorance. I know it shouldn't surprise me but it does.

[Romulox]

38. So the venomous dislike of HRC around here...also racist?

:shrug:

[wvbygod]

39. What is the approval rate for Cindy among blacks?

Anyone know?

[aspergris]

45. by the same "logic"

used in this thread. if black women don't like her, then they are undeniably racists and afraid of strong white women

it's absurd to use one data point (michelle obama) to conclude racism.

especially when there are numerous counterexamples, such as oprah or condi rice both of whom are strong black women who have shown high approval ratings

the former is the most successful media figure arguably ever - and she is a strong black woman and LOVED among whites, especially white women

the latter , politics aside, is the highest ranking black woman ever in any admin, holds a phd, etc.

i can't stand when people use one data point ot try to "prove" racism.

it's ridiculous, and frankly, about as logical as what white racists do to "prove" all sorts of stuff about blacks

[ihavenobias]

51. Fair enough but I would add

I hate that people ignore a critical part of this article "And, of course, there are a variety of factors that go into any phenomenon like this" and the section the follows it.

We can all have a reasonable disagreement on all of this, but if we do, let's all be sure we actually read the piece in it's entirely rather than only the subject line or first couple of paragraphs. It is a pretty short article after all.

[aspergris]

55. I agree

and note also that the plurality of pollees simply don't know enough about her to have approval OR disapproval.

that again goes against the prevailing "wisdom" in this thread

[ihavenobias]

82. See post # 80 n/t

[ihavenobias]

48. Among blacks approval was 9% for Cindy with 16% unfavorable n/t

[knitter4democracy]

42. I love watching her. She's so strong and just plain vivid.

She doesn't pull any punches when it comes to what she thinks, and I find that so refreshing to watch. I'd vote for her if I could.

I think those who don't like her don't because she is such a strong woman. She's a mama bear about her kids and her husband, which she has to be, in all reality, and that rubs some people the wrong way. These are the same people who think Laura's done a good job as First Lady when she's been a shopping lapdog.

[spanone]

43. because the media likes to demonize successful black women

[NoGOPZone]

54. Some of it's jealousy

She came from a working class family but made it to the Ivy League and became a successful lawyer.

[H2O Man]

62. She has a 100% approval

rating with me.

[fascisthunter]

67. same here

makes you wonder who they polled....

[TahitiNut]

68. You took the words right ...

... off my keyboard. :thumbsup:

[Beacool]

65. One sentence:

"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country".

That one statement has been repeated to death to imply that Michelle is not patriotic.

[Dukkha]

72. Hillary was about the same in 92

People are intimidated by women who show confidence, assertiveness, and strong convictions. The y prefer the submissive stepford wives role that Babs and Pickles portray. Just smile and bake cookies.

The fact that she's an African American woman just makes the backlash worse for her. Better get used to her! She's not going anywhere but the White House.

[Applepie]

75. Well I would be proud to have her as First Lady.

The more I see and hear her, the more I admire her.

[Imagevision]

76. And what % still believe that Obama is a muslum?

[bdamomma]

83. I like Michelle Obama and I am white!!

what total BS, what is wrong with people nevermind..................

[jesus_of_suburbia]

89. I love her! Then again I love Hillary and have since '91!

I'm afraid she's gonna be hated by some people as First Lady just as Hillary was.

[Olney Blue]

92. The more people are exposed to her and get to know her, the better.

She is wonderful.

[OhioChick]

93. Kick

:kick:

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

97. Beats me

I think she's terrific. She's highly intelligent, principled, a great American story (working class background but managed through the dint of her own efforts to get a Princeton/Harvard Law education) and, less relevant to be sure, but it counts in the court of public opinion, she's a likable, stylish and very attractive woman and the mother of two beautiful little girls. She was also a classmate of mine at law school, though I didn't know her. I think she'd make a fabulous First Lady, and for that matter a pretty damn good POTUS.

And I am a suburban white guy of middle years.

Some people - go figure.:shrug: