Michelle Obama Won't Run For Office, But She Would Win If She Did
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Dec 27, 2012 9:40PM
First Lady Michelle Obama reacts while talking on the phone to children across the country as part of the annual NORAD Tracks Santa program. Mrs. Obama answered the phone calls from Kailua, Hawaii, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
First Lady Michelle Obama has repeatedly said she is not interested in running for public office, but that hasn't put a damper on speculation. The Atlantic says she has the three things necessary for a successful run at public office: People love her, she has the skills and she has the opportunity — Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois will be up for re-election in 2016. If that doesn't work, rumor has it Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin might retire in 2016... or maybe in 2020.
According to poll earlier this month, if Michelle Obama were to challenge Kirk, she already has a 51 to 40 percent hypothetical lead. In a new interview with Barbara Walters, Michelle Obama said the reason she wouldn't run for office is because she lacks the patience. Afterward Pres. Obama chimed in to say she has trouble "biting her tongue." It sounds more likely that we'll see a Sen. Malia Obama before a Sen. Michelle.
However, according to the Atlantic, Hillary Clinton was singing the same tune as Michelle Obama when asked if she would ever run for office.
In February 1999, The Wall Street Journal's John Fund wrote that Clinton "isn't likely to succumb to media calls for her candidacy, but she may be tempted... [S]he is in an awkward position from which she may find it difficult to transfer her public popularity into meaningful power."
Heading into her second term, a CNN poll shows 73 percent approve of the way Michelle Obama has handled First Lady duties. Just 20 percent disapproved. At the same point in her career, in 1996, Clinton's approval rating was 47 percent.
In the meantime, Hillary Clinton continues to say she won't run for president in 2016. That doesn't mean they'll stop asking that question, though, either.
Watch part of Barbara Walters' interview with the First Lady and President in the video below.