Uplifting crowds, encouraging women, and increasing the turnout among African-American voters — yes Mrs. Obama can do it!
And even though that’s all good, it does seem a bit strange that Michelle Obama has been somewhat absent from the campaign trail as the tallies get closer for which party will have control of the Senate.
Democrats have said: Mrs. Obama hates to be away from her daughters, loathes Washington’s toxic politics, resents Republicans for their opposition to her husband’s agenda, and believes some Senate Democrats have been insufficiently supportive of her own efforts to end childhood obesity.
That’s a lot to deal with, honestly.
Mrs. Obama is emerging to rally voters this month though. On Friday, she will be in Maine and Massachusetts for rallies, and later this month she will return to Wisconsin for another voter-mobilization event.
Mrs. Obama plans to keep to a fairly limited path due to how deeply unpopular her husband is in Republican-leaning battleground states.
Democratic Senate candidates are uneasy about Mrs. Obama’s presence tying them too closely to the president they are trying to distance themselves from, just as undecided voters are making up their mind to vote.
“She’s awesome, but it just brings in the name Obama,” said a Democratic strategist in a state with a close Senate race, who, like most other Democrats interviewed, denied discussing politics involving Mrs. Obama.
Mrs. Obama has no plans to tour through Arkansas, Louisiana or North Carolina, three of the states with the most competitive races that will decide whether Democrats hold their Senate majority.
“The biggest fear of the Republican Party is high turnout,” said Joan Zeiger, 71. “She’s black, she’s a woman, and we think that’s a double-whammy.”
Polls show that more than 60 percent of Americans approve of Mrs. Obama’s performance as first lady, which is higher than her husband’s approval rating.
Referring to Republicans, she said, “They’ve even tried to block the work I do on child obesity, and that’s really saying something.”
It’s sad that this country is still so divided – the most important thing to remember is to unite as a community not stand segregated.
Candice Nicole
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Source NY Times
