The spotlight on the first night of the Democratic National Convention will be on Michelle Obama, who four out of 10 voters (39%) describe as Very Liberal.

Just over one-quarter (26%) expect her to be Very Involved in making important policy decisions if her husband is elected president, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Another 31% say she will be somewhat involved in major policy decisions, while 29% believe she will have little if any involvement.

Likely Obama voters expect Mrs. Obama to be far less involved – and see her as far less liberal -- than those who plan to vote for the Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Forty-six percent (46%) of likely Obama voters say Mrs. Obama will be at least somewhat involved in making important policy decisions, and only 12% think she will be Very Involved. But 41% of potential McCain voters expect her to be Very Involved in major policy decisions, and an additional 30% say they expect her to be somewhat involved.

Only 12% of likely Obama voters say Mrs. Obama is Very Liberal versus 69% of those who plan to vote for McCain.

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Mrs. Obama, the main speaker in primetime tonight, will be working hard not just to sell her husband, about to be nominated as the first African-American presidential candidate of a major political party, but also to reassure voters about herself. A Princeton- and Harvard-educated lawyer and accomplished hospital administrator, she has, nevertheless, been characterized by some as “angry” largely for comments she made earlier in the year that were critical of U.S. society.

Also, Republicans – and conservatives, in particular – have been wary of activist first ladies since Hillary Clinton’s heavy involvement in policy decisions, particularly during her husband’s first term.

Mrs. Obama has consistently tallied higher negatives than Cindy McCain, the wife of the GOP hopeful, in Rasmussen Reports polling since early June. Most recently, on August 14, 48% of voters had at least a somewhat favorable opinion of Mrs. Obama, while 43% viewed her at least somewhat unfavorably, including 24% who described their view of her as Very Unfavorable. In the same poll, 45% viewed Mrs. McCain at least somewhat favorably versus 34% who had at least a somewhat unfavorable view of her. But only 11% of the latter regarded Mrs. McCain Very Unfavorably.

In the new survey, 46% of men and 33% of women rate Mrs. Obama as Very Liberal. Similarly, 24% of male voters and 27% of female voters expect her to be Very Involved in major policy decisions.
Interestingly, while 63% of conservatives view her as Very Liberal, only 20% of liberals – and 28% of self-designated moderates -- feel that way.

Several prominent Democratic women will be speaking on the first night of the Denver convention, but a plurality (38%) regard Mrs. Obama’s speech as the most important, followed by 26% who feel that way about scheduled remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Both women’s speeches are rated somewhat higher by Democrats, 44% of whom say Mrs. Obama’s is most important while 32% say that of Pelosi’s.

Rasmussen Reports has released favorable ratings and ideological perceptions of 15 leading Democrats. Other key measures of Election 2008 are highlighted on Obama-McCain: By The Numbers.

Drawing on wording by the Democratic Party itself, 37% of voters agree that Barack Obama’s story “reflects a life of struggle, opportunity and responsibility like those faced by Americans every day.” But slightly more voters (43%) disagree. Again, while 58% of Democrats agree with the statement, 69% of Republicans do not. More unaffiliated voters (40%) disagree with the statement than agree with it (34%).

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters say they are Very Likely to watch the first night of the Democratic convention, as opposed to 14% who say they are Not At All Likely to watch. Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats characterize themselves as Very Likely to watch, as do 33% of unaffiliateds. Only 26% of Republicans say the same.

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