CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL For release: Thursday, January 17, 2013 4:00 pm ET

Views of Michelle Obama January 11-15, 2013 When President Barack Obama is sworn in for a second term Michelle Obama will also begin another four years as First Lady. Americans hold net positive views of the First Lady, as they have since her husband took office. Michelle Obama celebrates her 49th birthday today and 51% of Americans hold a favorable opinion of her, while only 13% view her unfavorably. A third are undecided or havent heard enough about the First Lady. In February 2009, soon after her husband was sworn into office, Michelle Obamas favorable rating was 49%; that number rose to a high of 67% in April of that year as Mr. Obama marked his first 100 days in office. Michelle Obamas favorability remained mostly in the 40s throughout 2010 and 2011 and spiked up just after the Democratic National Convention this past September. Six in ten voters in that poll viewed the First Lady favorably.

Views of Michelle Obama Now 9/2012* 5/2011 Favorable 51% 61% 40% Not favorable 13 19 14 Undecided/havent heard enough 34 19 44
*among registered voters

8/2010 4/2009 2/2009 45% 67% 49% 11 3 5 41 30 44

Michelle Obama is especially popular with Democrats, while Republicans are more divided in their opinions: 24% view her favorably, but 30% have an unfavorable opinion of her. The First Lady is viewed positively by both men and women, but is more popular with women. Views of Michelle Obama All Reps Dems Inds Favorable 51% 24% 79% 45% Not favorable 13 30 2 11 Undecided/havent heard enough 34 43 17 42

Men 44% 14 38

Women 57% 12 29

____________________________________________________________________
This poll was conducted by telephone from January 11-15, 2013 among 1,110 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL Michelle Obama January 11-15, 2013 q19 Is your opinion of Michelle Obama favorable, not favorable, undecided, or haven't you heard enough about Michelle Obama yet to have an opinion?? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % 51 24 79 45 13 30 2 11 15 21 6 19 19 22 11 23 2 3 1 2

Favorable Not favorable Undecided Haven't heard enough Refused

Sep12a* % 61 19 13 6 1

*Trend is among registered voters.

Total Respondents Total Republicans Total Democrats Total Independents

UNWEIGHTED 1,110 313 363 434

WEIGHTED 288 373 449