How The U.S. Public Rates The Last 10 First Ladies

The chart above reflects the results of the YouGov Poll -- done between November 20th and 27th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults, with a 4.1 point margin of error.

Melania Trump Had Lowest Approval Of The First Ladies

 

Who was the most popular First Lady at the end of her husband's term in office. It was Barbara Bush, who had an 85% approval rating. The other two most popular were Michelle Obama (69%) and Laura Bush (67%).

Melania Trump is the least popular of the modern First Ladies (since polling was done on First Ladies). She had only a 42% approval rating at the end of her tenure in the White House -- the only First Lady to finish with less than 50% approval.

The Public's View Of Our Last 14 First Ladies

I don't really have much of a problem with any of the First Ladies in the charts above. But I found this public evaluation of them by the public to be interesting, and I thought you might also.

In the wake of Barbara Bush's death, the Economist / YouGov Poll queried Americans on what they thought of each of the First Ladies we have had since the Great Depression. The survey was done of 1,500 adults between April 22nd and 24th, and has a margin of error of 3 points.

I would like to have seen Michelle Obama and Eleanor Roosevelt rated a bit higher, but that is because they are my two favorite First Ladies. I was happy to see that both scored well on both favorability and job approval with a significant majority of the public.

The only thing I really hated to see was how the public rated Hillary Clinton. Only 39% said they had a favorable view of her, and only 44% said they approved of the job she did as First Lady. That's the lowest rating in both favorability and job approval of any of these 14 First Ladies.

That saddens me, because Clinton was a decent person who dedicated her life to serving the people of this country -- both before, during, and after her term as First Lady.  There seems to be a lot of Hillary-haters  in the population right now (probably due to the divisive 2016 presidential primary and election, where many lies were told about her and fake stories about her spread through social media). I believe history will treat her much more kindly than this survey does.

Melania Sees Being First Lady As A Business Opportunity

Melania Trump has filed suit against the Mail Online, and its print version The Daily Mail, for publishing an article last August that said she had worked as a prostitute. The article was later retracted, but had already been read by millions of people.

I can understand the lawsuit. If the article was wrong (and I'm sure it was), then she probably has a good case for defamation. What bothers me is that she has filed the lawsuit because it could hurt her business opportunities as First Lady. Here is a statement from the filing by her attorney (Charles Harder).

Plaintiff had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person…to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world.

These product categories would have included, among other things, apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care, skin care and fragrance.

Yes. You read that right. She's suing because the article could have hurt her chance to turn being First Lady into a very lucrative money-making venture. This represents a radical departure from First Ladies of the past. Those First Ladies, of both parties, dedicated them selves to causes that would benefit the people of this country -- not themselves.

This shouldn't surprise anyone. The original posting on the White House website about Melania touted her jewelry line on QVC. Evidently someone pointed out how tacky that was, because the reference to QVC has since been deleted.

She is just following the lead of her husband. Donald Trump has refused to separate himself from his many businesses, making it more than likely that his presidential decisions will benefit those businesses (and further enrich Trump). If her husband sees the presidency as a business opportunity, why shouldn't see see being First Lady the same way?

It seems obvious that the Trumps simply don't have the ethics the public has a right to expect of occupants of the people's White House.

Michelle Treated You Like A Thinking Adult

The other night the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, wowed the delegates at the Democratic Convention (and viewers all over the country) with a stunning and passionate speech. It was wonderful. But it was also intelligent, and aimed at Americans who are intelligent. Why do I say that?

The website called Smart Politics has graded the speeches of many politicians and others (based on words and sentence structure) and assigned them a grade level. For instance, all three of Barack Obama's State of the Union speeches were graded out at an 8th grade level (and that was still probably over the heads of many of the teabagger congress people listening to the speeches).

The site has also assigned grade levels to all the speeches of the First Ladies (and prospective First Ladies) in the modern era. Here's how they all stacked up:

Michelle Obama (2012)...............12.84
Michelle Obama (2008)...............9.28
Teresa Kerry (2004)...............9.20
Elizabeth Dole (1996)...............8.51
Cindy McCain (2008)...............8.38
Hillary Clinton (1996)...............8.29
Barbara Bush (1992)...............7.99
Laura Bush (2004)...............7.77
Tipper Gore (2000)...............6.63
Laura Bush (2000)...............6.46
Ann Romney (2012)...............5.80

Michelle Obama delivered her wonderful speech at a 12.84 level (that's a college freshman level). She treated the Americans listening to her like intelligent adults. By comparison, Ann Romney delivered her speech at a 5.80 grade level. Now I don't think Mrs. Romney is incapable of giving a speech at a higher level. Far from it. She's an educated woman.

We must remember who she was talking to. She was trying to convince the teabaggers (who still aren't sure they trust Willard) that her husband was worth working to elect. I think that's why she had to tone her rhetoric down to a sixth grade level. She's seen the atrocious spelling on their signs, and knew a college-level speech would never work.

Michelle

What a great idea! While Willard Romney was doing his impersonation of an "Ugly American" in Great britain, Michelle Obama showed up and instantly won the hearts of the British people. She is truly a national treasure. I once wrote that Michelle must stand aside because Eleanor Roosevelt was the greatest First Lady this country has had. I have revised that opinion. I now believe those two extraordinary ladies must share that honor.

Last night, this great First Lady spoke to the Democratic convention. It was a great speech, full of passion and love both for her husband and her country. You can read the full speech here, but I am reposting just a part of it for those who might have missed it (a part I especially liked). She said:

Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it...and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love.

And he believes that when you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity...you do not slam it shut behind you...you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.

So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.

He's the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work...because for Barack, success isn't about how much money you make, it's about the difference you make in people's lives.

He's the same man who, when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew.

That's the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering their questions about issues in the news, and strategizing about middle school friendships.

That's the man I see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have sent him.

The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills...from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won't cover her care...from the young person with so much promise but so few opportunities.

I see the concern in his eyes...and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, "You won't believe what these folks are going through, Michelle...it's not right. We've got to keep working to fix this. We've got so much more to do."

I see how those stories – our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams – I see how that's what drives Barack Obama every single day.

And I didn't think it was possible, but today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago...even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met.

I love that he's never forgotten how he started.

I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he's going to do, even when it's hard – especially when it's hard.

I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as "us" and "them" – he doesn't care whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above...he knows that we all love our country...and he's always ready to listen to good ideas...he's always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.

And I love that even in the toughest moments, when we're all sweating it – when we're worried that the bill won't pass, and it seems like all is lost – Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.

Just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward...with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace.

And he reminds me that we are playing a long game here...and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once.

But eventually we get there, we always do.

We get there because of folks like my Dad...folks like Barack's grandmother...men and women who said to themselves, "I may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will...maybe my grandchildren will."

So many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice, and longing, and steadfast love...because time and again, they swallowed their fears and doubts and did what was hard.

So today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming – or even impossible – let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation...it's who we are as Americans...it's how this country was built.

And if our parents and grandparents could toil and struggle for us...if they could raise beams of steel to the sky, send a man to the moon, and connect the world with the touch of a button...then surely we can keep on sacrificing and building for our own kids and grandkids.

And if so many brave men and women could wear our country's uniform and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights...then surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights...surely, we can get to the polls and make our voices heard on Election Day.

If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire...if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores...if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote...if a generation could defeat a depression, and define greatness for all time...if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream...and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love...then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.

Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country – the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle.

Best First Lady Ever ?

A fellow blogger (over at The Immoral Minority) asked a very interesting question yesterday. He was talking about another very successful appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama, and asked the question, "Best First Lady Ever?". I think it's a valid question.

There is no doubt that Michelle Obama has all of the qualities anyone could want in a First Lady. She has intelligence, bravery, empathy for others, grace, poise, and is attractive. And she has used her attributes to effectively represent our country -- both domestically and abroad. She is undoubtably a great First Lady, and I am very proud to have her represent me and my country.

But that wasn't his question. The question was -- is she the best First Lady ever? And my purely personal answer would have to be no (at least not yet). I would give that honor to the lady pictured below -- Eleanor Roosevelt. Maybe you disagree. Who do you think is the greatest First Lady ever?