By: Jason EasleyApr. 12th, 2012more from Jason Easley

Even in an election year Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton remain wildly popular. New surveys have found both Sec. Clinton and the First Lady enjoy 66% approval ratings.

A new Marist poll found that First Lady Michelle Obama has a 65% favorable rating. Only 23% of those polled held an unfavorable view of her. Unlike her husband, Michelle Obama’s approval ratings have remained consistently high. Last October, her approval rating was 63%. Michelle Obama held a small favorable advantage with Republicans (41%-43%) and with Tea Party supporters (42%-40%). Republicans, extreme right wing Republicans (strong tea party supporters), and conservatives were the only groups that held a negative view of the First Lady.

Michelle Obama’s consistency is only outshined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarkable rise. According to Gallup, Mrs. Clinton currently enjoys a 66% favorable rating. First Lady Obama is very popular with women (73% favorable), but Sec. of State Clinton is beloved by women over age 50. Clinton’s favorable rating with women is 72%, but her approval rating with women over age 50 is 77%. Her favorable rating with women age 18-49 is a point higher than the First Lady’s favorable rating (67%-66%). Sec. Clinton is still reviled by Republicans (57% unfavorable rating), but her rebound has been remarkable.

When she was running for the Democratic nomination in 2008, Hillary Clinton’s favorable rating slipped into the forties, but since becoming Secretary of State she has become arguably the most popular politician in America. As Republicans have declared war on women this year, the Obama administration contains two of the most popular women in the country.

Don’t think that the White House doesn’t realize the value of First Lady Obama and Sec. Clinton’s popularity. Before the Romney campaign and the Republican Party could make much political hay out Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney, the First Lady tweeted:

So much for the strategy of using Hilary Rosen to paint the White House as anti-woman, back to the drawing board, Mittens. Mitt Romney is facing a widely acknowledged possibly insurmountable deficit with women, and no, lying about the number of women who lost their jobs due to the Bush recession isn’t the way to catch up.
You can bet that Hillary Clinton won’t be doing any campaigning for President Obama this fall, but the administration could use her in other ways to help their cause. There is no greater contrast to the Republican Party than to have the most beloved champion for women and girls in your cabinet.

The right will continue to fight a gender war for political gain, but everyone already knows that the party of women’s rights is the one that is proud to have leaders like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

Real men respect and support Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.