First lady's trips boost health — and her husband

DALLAS — In just the past few days, she's danced with cheering school kids, chatted with troops, swapped ideas with busy parents and engaged in a friendly cooking competition with stars from "Top Chef."

Michelle Obama is on a national tour to promote the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity. The images have been disarming, intriguing and non-political — just the type of thing her husband's re-election campaign can't get enough of.

Five years to the day after Sen. Barack Obama announced he was running for president, Mrs. Obama's travels this week offer fresh evidence of what an out-sized role she's assumed in the public eye and how powerful a political asset a first lady can be.

In recent weeks Mrs. Obama has seemingly been everywhere: Doing pushups with Ellen DeGeneres. Serving veggie pizza to Jay Leno. Playing tug-of-war with Jimmy Fallon in the White House. And now making a rare four-state tour — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa and Texas — to mark the two-year-point for her "Let's Move" initiative.

The first lady draws a line between her policy efforts on childhood obesity and her political activities. But such distinctions often are lost on the public.

In an election year, it's all to the good for Barack Obama that his popular wife is traveling the country promoting can't-miss issues like healthy living and support for military families. To a more limited extent, Mrs. Obama also fills a more overtly political role by headlining private fundraisers that raise millions for her husband's campaign, reaching out to supporters through conference calls to various states and shooting out periodic emails to campaign backers around the country.

That part of her labors will increase considerably in the months to come.

For now, though, the first lady's most visible role is tied to her signature issue of fighting obesity, allowing her to connect with voters on an emotional level and relate to them as a mother who has struggled with some of the same challenges that other families face.

"We're constantly trying to make sure that what we do is on point with what is going on in people's lives," Mrs. Obama told parents this week as she chatted with them over low-calorie plates of chicken and pasta at an Olive Garden restaurant in Fort Worth. "I mean, at one point I was normal. I went to the grocery store and I did all that."

Voters typically don't pay attention to whether an event is political or not, says Democratic strategist Chris Lehane.