The AP reports that according to their poll, Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama having similar “favorability” ratings, but that Michelle Obama’s “unfavorable” ratings are about twice as high as Cindy McCain. Part of the negative perception apparently comes from the fact that Michelle Obama (unlike Cindy McCain?) has been using her brain too much.

According to a woman quoted in the article:

“Cindy seems like she’s laid back and not trying to run her husband,” said Linda Kaiser, 60, a Republican and church secretary from Clairton, Pa. “It’s nice to have a brain, but they should let their husband be president.”

It’s also interesting to note that the less we know of a candidate’s wife, the more we seem to like her. Perhaps this is an innocent until proven guilty approach, or maybe more of a “seen but not heard” preference.

Cindy McCain is also more of a mystery. Nearly six in 10, or 56 percent, said they know too little to say much about her — exceeding the 34 percent clueless about Michelle Obama. Half of Republicans say they don’t know Cindy McCain, while three in 10 Democrats say that about Michelle Obama.

Take note political wives: silence and mystery = good, using your brain = bad.