Poll: Michelle Obama's a hit

WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- U.S. residents' favorable view of first lady Michelle Obama was at 76 percent, a 28-point upsurge since the summer, poll results released Tuesday indicate.

A Washington Post-ABC News survey said the number of people who view Mrs. Obama negatively plummeted, with the biggest turnaround coming from Republicans who viewed her negatively last year, in part because of comments she made about feeling proud of her country for the first time.

Just before the inauguration, 47 percent of respondents identified as Republicans had a positive view of Michelle Obama. In the recent poll that number increased to 59 percent.

Since the inauguration, the first lady's overall favorable rating has risen 4 points to 76 percent.

Obama's favorable mark nears former first lady Barbara Bush's high mark of 85 percent in Gallup polling conducted near the end of her husband's term, and is close to Laura Bush's top Gallup Poll rating of 80 percent favorable, which she achieved when her husband was inaugurated for a second term.

The Washington Post-ABC News nationwide telephone poll was conducted by TNS of Horsham, Pa., Thursday through Sunday among 1,000 adults. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.