米歇尔人气飙升 支持率远超奥巴马

Michelle Obama has left her husband way behind in America’s popularity stakes.

The First Lady returned to the campaign trail this week for the first time since 2008 after her approval rating rocketed to 65% - twenty points higher than the president.

With only a quarter of those questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll expressing their disapproval, Mrs Obama is seen as a saviour for beleaguered Democrats in the run-up to next month’s mid-term elections.

She is so popular that some congressional candidates have expressed more excitement at the prospect of campaigning with her than with her husband.

When President Obama visited Wisconsin to talk up Democrat Senator Russ Feingold last month, the election hopeful’s support plunged 5% overnight.

After the First Lady’s trip to the same state on Wednesday on the first stop of her seven-state tour, Senator Feingold’s popularity spiked to its highest level of his campaign and she helped him raise more than £150,000 ($240,000).

Several Democrat candidates have aired TV adverts highlighting votes in Congress where they have opposed the White House. Others have quietly told the president’s office that they would prefer it if he stayed away.

But everybody is clamouring for the First Lady.

She was in Illinois and Colorado yesterday and will be making speeches in a string of states, including California, Washington and Connecticut, over the next fortnight.

With Democrats suffering from an ‘enthusiasm’ gap, Mrs Obama tried to inject some pizzazz into the proceedings at a Milwaukee fund-raiser, wearing a pink dress and a sparkly necklace.

Advisers are pushing her to remind her audiences of the excitement that built up around her husband’s inauguration, when the country was in a far more hopeful mood.

She is also acting as first cheerleader for her husband, who is coming under fire over America’s prolonged economic slump.

The survey results indicated that six out of ten men and more than seven out of ten women approve of Mrs Obama’s performance as First Lady.

米歇尔•奥巴马在美国的受欢迎程度已经远远超过她的丈夫贝拉克•奥巴马。

继2008年后，第一夫人本周重返选举活动，支持率飙升至65%，比身为总统的丈夫还高20个百分点。

美国有线新闻网与民意研究公司合作开展的民调显示，仅有1/4的受访者表示不支持米歇尔。米歇尔目前已被看成危机重重的民主党下月中期选举前期准备的救星。

米歇尔的支持率颇高，因此一些国会候选人对与她一同参选的前景更看好，而不是与她的丈夫。

奥巴马总统上月前往威斯康星州为民主党参议员拉斯•范戈尔德竞选助威时，拉斯的支持率一夜之间暴跌了5%。

而在第一夫人于本周三也来到七州之行的首站威斯康星州助威后，参议员范戈尔德的支持率立即升至参选以来的最高水平。她还帮范戈尔德募到超过15万英镑（合24万美元）经费。

数位民主党候选人已播发电视广告，亮明了自己反对白宫的态度。另有一些人已暗中向总统办公室透露更希望总统离任。

但大家一致拥戴第一夫人。

米歇尔昨天在伊利诺斯州和科罗纳多州为选举助威。今后两周内，她还将在加利福尼亚、华盛顿和康涅狄格等州发表演讲。

眼下民主党对选举热情不高，因此米歇尔试着在密尔沃基的募捐活动中加点儿料，她穿了一条粉红连衣裙，还戴上了耀眼的项链。

顾问们建议她要提醒观众奥巴马就职时大家的激动之情，当时人们对未来抱有更大的希望。

米歇尔还是奥巴马最坚定的支持者。由于美国经济长期萎靡不振，奥巴马备受指责。

调查结果还表明，有60%的男性和70%的女性赞赏米歇尔作为第一夫人的表现。

Vocabulary:

saviour: a person who saves, rescues, or delivers（救星，救世主）

pizzazz: attractive style; dash; flair（激情，活泼）

cheerleader: 某一政治家、某种观点或做法等的支持者，摇旗呐喊者