Public Office or Private Marriage? An Examination of the Influence of the Relationship of the President and First Lady

Abstract

This study examined the impact of president and first lady interaction on presidential image, including competency, favorability and homophily. A pre-test and post-test design was used to examine the changes in participants' perception of the President Barack Obama's image and competency, participants' favorability ratings of Obama, and participants' homophily ratings after viewing photos of the Barack and Michelle Obama in either professional settings or personal settings. Statistical analysis indicated that no significant differences between the groups existed, suggesting that voter perception of the president may remain constant regardless of how the president interacts with his wife. Content and thematic analyses of open-ended questions suggest that voters are more likely to view the president's relationship with the first lady in personal terms rather than professional terms, regardless of the type of image (personal or profession) viewed. Additionally, young voters were more likely to expect the first lady to engage in familial duties rather than work- or image-related duties, confirming previous research on first lady scholarship.