First lady campaigning in last few days

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- With less than a week remaining before the election, first lady Michelle Obama is campaigning throughout the country, with plans to stop Friday in Virginia.

In the past 18 months, Michelle Obama has held 47 rallies and 92 fundraisers, and though there are only a few days left before the presidential election, she's still trying to raise money and encourage voters to cast their ballots for President Obama, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The first lady sent an email asking for more campaign contributions during the week the president paused his campaign participation to address the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

"We can either give it our all in these final days, or wake up on Nov. 7 wishing we had done a little more," the message read.

She has described the last days of the campaign as like being at "the end of a hard workout."

"You would do anything for that last five minutes," she said. "That last run, that last minute -- in my mind, it's like we're just on that last minute of that run."

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for President George W. Bush, said he doesn't believe Michelle Obama's efforts move voters to vote.

"My experience is that first ladies are always notable. They play an important role behind the scenes with the president, and they are often interesting people, but politically their influence is almost always overstated," he said. "Her popularity is not transferable. There's no history that says it is."