With an approval rating that is the envy of her husband, the president, as well as the two candidates vying to succeed him, Michelle Obama should be a fearsome addition to the Democrat arsenal in its fight with Donald Trump.
Yet according to insiders, Mrs Obama would be a reluctant advocate for Hillary Clinton and could deny the party one of its most potentially influential campaigners.
Mrs Obama’s disdain of the political to-and-fro is well known. She was a respected lawyer who was once her husband’s boss, but as first lady she has been forced to be more reticent.
Nonetheless her stylish public image combined with her life-coaching roles has launched her on to the covers of glossy magazines and secures her regular television exposure and a 66 per cent approval rate among Americans.
Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women, a history of presidential wives, says that campaigning for Mrs Clinton would be an unwelcome intrusion as the Obamas prepare for life after the presidency. “She just wants a normal life and is counting down the days until they leave the White House,” she said.
Advertisement
Yet were she persuaded to campaign for Mrs Clinton — relations between the two women are said to be less than warm — analysts believe that she would energise parts of the electorate that the Democrats need to get out and where support for Mr Trump is weak.
Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic strategist, said: “When you look at the kind of turnout Hillary Clinton needs to win this election — she needs women overwhelmingly, and African-Americans overwhelmingly. No question about it, Michelle Obama would be a hugely effective asset.”
The Obama-Clinton family dynamic is complicated. In the 2012 election Bill Clinton came out forcefully in support of Mr Obama, putting aside an often rancorous Democratic primary race between Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton in 2008. Since then the two men appear to have forged a camaraderie.
However, Mrs Obama is said to have taken some of Mrs Clinton’s criticism of her husband in 2008 more personally.
The prospect that her husband’s legacy could be a Trump White House may yet force Mrs Obama to speak up. Last month she called Mrs Clinton “a phenomenal woman”, adding: “I’ve gotten to know her, and I think she’s made some pretty major contributions over the course of her life.”