Michelle Obama's Poll Numbers Drop After Trip

[Proud Liberal Dem]

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/michelle-obamas-popularity-plummets-after-spain-trip/19594095

It looks like the right-wing smear machine's efforts to attack Michelle Obama over her supposedly *luxurious* trip to Spain have been *successful*- plus they equivocate criticism of Michelle Obama with criticism that Nancy Reagan reportedly received while her husband was in office.

WHO the f**k cares about the "poll numbers" for First Ladies????? When did polling outfits start polling for THIS and what are implications????

:wtf:

I didn't realize that AOL was so right-wing nutty. When did THIS happen???

Words.fail.me. when it comes to the corporate mediawhores!!!

:banghead: :puke:

[marmar]

1. All five of AOL's subscribers participated in the poll?

nt

[SkyDaddy7]

2. My AOL theory is this...

Everyone I know who uses AOL is over 60 and most still have dial up...My Dad & step Mom & In-Laws both fit this description along with many of their friends! And they are die hard Republicans! However, my Mom should not be included as she has high speed & she is a Democrat!

[Lilyeye]

19. I still have AOL (the free version) because its easier for my mom to use. She's 67.

However, I have high speed internet. I agree that most of the AOL users are Republican and older. I don't even read comments on AOL because of how right wing and bigoted they're. If it wasn't for my mom, I wouldn't even use it.

[SkyDaddy7]

30. I agree it is easier for our elders to...

stick with what they are use to. I think it is nice that you help your Mom and you obviously care for her.

I agree, the comments on AOL are disgusting!

[jenmito]

3. They cited the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. n/t

[backwoodsbob]

4. first ladies have been *polled* forever

it's still a stupid argument weighed against that lovely ladies deeds but they have an *issue* to run with and they are going to run it into the ground.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. I didn't realize that

Why in the hell are they polled? If they get polled who does NOT get polled? Do people get polled on "First Children" too? I'm breathlessly awaiting the poll numbers for Malia and Sasha.......:banghead:

[tishaLA]

6. This was what they wanted to accomplish

It's a fait accompli that the First Lady will be out stumping when we get closer to the elections. She's a very popular figure, so they had to attack her and make her seem out of touch to decrease the harm she poses to them as she campaigns.

[Beacool]

7. Since when?

They've been polling first ladies for quite some years now.

Rightly or wrongly, I don't think that Michelle is going overseas on a strictly leisure trip (as opposed to an official visit) for some time to come. In politics the visuals matter.

I like her and think that she's doing a fine job as first lady, but that's what happens in politics. Look how Hillary was treated when she was in the WH. She never got a break from the media and the RW nuts.

:-(

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. Nope. She sure didn't. I remember that quite well.

She was a much more visible and active participant in her husband's Presidency and the right-wing just loathed the Clintons, so the feelings they engendered towards the Clintons were undeniably unfavorable. I can only imagine what we'd be hearing if she had actually been elected POTUS (not that I would've cared had she been elected POTUS).

I just didn't know that polling organizations actually bothered to poll about First Ladies and why it even matters.

[Beacool]

33. Since becoming First Lady Michelle has been having good poll ratings.

Probably because she has stuck to "safe" issues. Who could possibly be against planting a vegetable garden and fighting childhood obesity?

Hillary never got a break because she was an activist first lady who was involved in many hot button issues, primordially health care. The only time that the media gave her somewhat of a break was in the aftermath of the Lewinsky scandal.

;)

[dkf]

9. Visible demonstrations of excess are not popular in bad times.

When Wall Street first crashed, the Luxury retailers were giving out brown paper shopping bags so you didn't have to show you were spending like crazy. This is the same sort of thing.

[Arkana]

14. We fell on hard times for eight years when Dumbass was in office

and no one--NO ONE--reported on the shit Laura Bush did.

[dkf]

16. Maybe Laura Bush didn't do luxury vacations. I think I recall hearing she went on a trip to Africa.

That is not a luxury trip.

It's a a matter of being sensitive to the plight of other Anericans and this downturn has created a lot more desperate people than any other recession in recent memory.

In retrospect I imagine she can see it wasn't a very good idea.

[Lucky Luciano]

26. The most expensive vacation I ever took BY FAR was to Africa.

Africa is very expensive due to fuel costs and the costs of getting supplies to the places of most interest.

I think anyone should go on vacation wherever they damn please. It is totally ridiculous to criticize a trip to Spain.

[BlueMTexpat]

28. Mine too!

[BlueMTexpat]

27. Why was it not a good idea?

I understand that Michelle paid her own way and that it was a vacation that had been planned with some of her friends, one of whom lives in Spain. Why do we think that we "own" even her leisure moments? I really don't give a fig about whether a vacation was considered "luxury" or not. I don't care either about how many that Laura Bush had or whether they were considered "luxury" or not. What I do care about is that Laura Bush's lazy, incurious husband spent one heck of a lot of time "clearing brush" on a non-ranch in Texas and in general frittering around and pandering to RRW Christians while Dick Cheney and his pals ran this country into the ground in just about every way possible.

Frankly, this is just another non-issue distraction. This President and First Lady, in particular, are basically "ON" all of the time, whether it's official or not. I am happy that Michelle and Sasha were able to get away and have some time together that they enjoyed. Make no mistake, wherever any of the Obamas choose to go, they will be criticized for it. Remember, they were even criticized about vacationing in Hawaii - as if that were some exotic foreign locale - even when Obama had family there. It's all about finding fault with their actions, no matter what.

The Obamas should go wherever they want to go. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't so they might as well please themselves.

[Arkana]

29. There was the 700-dollar haircut before the 2005 inauguration.

She went on a trip in her husband's first term and clogged up 20 of the 70 cabins at her vacation site between her entourage and her girlfriends.

Taxpayers spent $20 million shuttling her and Dimson back and forth between DC and the pig ranch in Crawford.

Don't tell me the Bushes didn't waste money.

[Beacool]

32. If not mistaken, Laura's trip was an official visit.

Michelle's was purely for recreational purposes. Personally I couldn't care less, but that's the distinction that the media is making. They were saying that the previous first ladies' trips (they were focusing on Laura and Hillary) were all official visits.

:eyes:

[CBR]

24. ...

[denimgirly]

10. Meaningless.

seriously..poll for the 1st lady?

[ProSense]

11. So AOL is using the NBC/WSJ poll results to spin the poll's actual results?

AOL

(Aug. 15) -- Michelle Obama may think twice before vacationing in Europe again. While the first lady may have enjoyed her recent luxury trip to the south of Spain with 9-year-old daughter Sasha, it's caused her popularity rating to plummet, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

From the WSJ

– First Lady Michelle Obama, despite her controversial jaunt to Spain last week, remains one of the country’s most-popular political figures. Half of Americans feel positively about her, while 19% feel negatively. The survey, conducted Aug. 5-9, was being taken as negative stories were coming out about her vacation, taken with a daughter and friends at a time when many Americans remain jobless. She is more well-liked than her husband (by a four-point margin), the tea party movement (by a 20-point margin), the GOP (by 26 points), and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (by 29 points).

From the PDF

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. Thanks, ProSense

for making "sense" out of the blatant RW spin in the article. Hmmmmm.....50% positive vs. 22% negative. Yup. People hate her all right!!! :eyes:

And why, when discussing President Obama's polls numbers or Michelle's poll numbers are they endlessly comparing them to LAST YEAR'S polling?? A President's *popularity* is NEVER going to remain high unless, like Bush's, they are artificially inflated by, oh, say, a massive terrorist attack and even then, Bush's poll numbers eventually did start falling- almost to the point that he lost re-election but no controversy there. Reagan's popularity was even LOWER than President Obama's is right now and he won re-election and was even forever deified and blessed by the corporate mediawhores and the Republican Party.

Our corporate mediawhores at work as busy as ever with the RW marching orders. :banghead:

[Arkana]

13. Who. Cares.

[asjr]

15. To hell with polls!

[Lilyeye]

17. What a piece of shit poll. This just goes to show how the RW is damn good at fooling people

I hate how wimpy the democrats are that they don't stand up to these attacks.

[Aramchek]

18. aol is freeper central

only old people use it.

[AtomicKitten]

20. AOL internet poll? lol

[impik]

21. I can't wait for 2012, so this great first family can go home and leave this stupid country with the

leaders it really deserves.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. They're not going anywhere IMHO

Obama's NOT a quitter like "Failin'" is. I'm sure that they're feeling the heat- both from the right AND the left. But they're not going anywhere IMHO. President Obama may not be a god nor is he indestructible but he is made of MUCH more sterner stuff. He will be the nominee in 2012 for POTUS and will win a second term. Instinctively, I think that the Republicans know this too but they'll still have to put somebody up to run against him but I don't believe that they think that they can win against him nor do they even have any plans to work towards any real solutions. They are great when it comes to attacking and tearing things down but they truly suck at governing. Thomas Franks didn't refer to them in his book as "The Wrecking Crew" for nothing, right???

[Kdillard]

23. She is simply getting Democratic First lady treatment.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

25. Most definitely

These double standards severely irritate me!!! Almost like a rash...but worse.

[impik]

31. With extra spice of being Black

[becxx]

34. A different take on this -- history loves a plain Jane

Personally, I rather enjoy the troubles others create for themselves with extravagant consumption. I think this enjoyment is rather widely shared because I observe that first spouses, royalty and big whigs are often criticized and caricatured for extravagance. This seems to be a nonpartisan sport. Luckily for the first spouses, they don't lose their heads these days.

Many past first spouses have aroused the ire of the public and managed to get in trouble for extravagance. Think of the disdain the public has enjoyed in the following cases:

Nancy Reagan -- was often disdainfully referred to a Queen Nancy after she did some rather selfish things such as buying expensive new china while the rest of the country suffered with high unemployment. Fortunately, preparing nasty caricatures and articles about Nancy Reagan became a mini industry and helped solve some of the nation's economic woes.
Marie Antoinette -- managed to attract the wrong attention with her extravagance too. Of course she lost her head.
Imelda Marcos -- the people of the Philippines probably wanted her head after she displayed more concern for her shoes and jewelry than the impoverished people of the Philippines.
Cindy McCain -- she was roundly criticized for wearing a $150,000 set of digs to the GOP convention. Often caricatured for her extravagance, most still can't think of Cindy McCain without thinking of her vanity.
Michelle Obama -- has seem to join the over consumption crowd and needs to cut back or she will join her predecessors is being less than admired. Alas, she can be stubborn but the fact is that history loves a Plain Jane.

Admiration of first spouses (or politicians) for their modest consumption also seems nonpartisan. Consider the following:

Eleanor Roosevelt -- much admired for being plain, simple and down to earth while having a great deal of warmth for those most in need.
Laura Bush -- admired for usually shunning designer clothes.
Janet Reno -- admired for her plain Jane appearance and integrity.

Even fictional characters are designed to be loved or hated based on the propensity to selfish over-consumption and more modest sharing type of behavior. Consider the following characters from Little House on a Prairie:

Nellie Olson (I'll bet she was a rich Republican).
Laura (a charming Plain Jane).

What's the moral of the story: Michelle Obama needs to tone it down. Those who sport splashy digs and extravagance are probably all wise to tone it down. The lesson Michelle Obama needs to learn is a good lesson for all of us. A Plain Jane is loved.