It's about the First Lady's sky-high approval ratings. Here's the Politico headline:

Michelle's Recovery

First, “recovery” implies that Obama's public perception has rebounded; that she was recently unpopular and now she's the opposite. (i.e. recovery: “a return to a normal condition.”) But here's the Gallup graphic that accompanies the article, note the steady ascension, not a “recovery”:

Second, there's this Politico announcement:

Her transformation in the public eye is one of David Axelrod's great successes, and really a remarkable thing.

Americans really like Michelle Obama, so Politico, without hesitation, credits a (male) White House adviser for making that happen. Shouldn't Michelle get at least some of the credit for her White House success?

And third:

She was, for a moment, a serious vulnerability for the campaign.

We can't remember at any point when Michelle Obama was a “serious” vulnerability for the campaign. And while Politico mentions a couple passing controversies from the two-year White House trek, Politico never provides any hard evidence that Barack Obama was seriously weighed down during his campaign because Michelle was his wife.

FYI: Back in June 2008, Michelle Obama was viewed more favorably by more Americans than was Cindy McCain.