Michelle Obama Makes Appeal to Women Voters, Co-Hosts 'The View'

Michelle Obama makes her debut appearance on ABC's "The View" Wednesday as her husband, presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, fights for key women voters.

Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will co-host "The View" as she attempts to soften her image and appeal to women voters, a key group in her husband's election battle with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

(Fitzroy Barrett/Landov)

Her appearance on a popular women's daytime television program coincides with subtle attempts by the Obama campaign to soften her image and combat efforts by some conservatives and critics to paint her as an unpatriotic, angry, black woman.

Obama, 44, would become the nation's first African American first lady if her husband wins the White House in November, and one of the youngest since Jackie Kennedy.

Obama's 'View'

Mrs. Obama co-hosts the program Wednesday alongside regulars including Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck who grilled Obama's husband on the show last March for their association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

"She needs to relax, show she has a sense of humor and is someone who can laugh at herself," said Myra Gutin, a first lady historian at New Jersey's Rider University and author of the 1989 book The President's Partner: The First Lady in the 20th Century.

Michelle Obama is viewed more favorably by likely voters than Cindy McCain, 48 percent to 39 percent, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll. But while Obama leads in favorability, many voters say they haven't formed an opinion yet of McCain, and slightly more voters also view Obama unfavorably -- 29 percent vs. McCain's 25 percent.

[Source: ABC News]