Who is the most popular first lady? Poll reveals America's favorite presidential spouse

While each of America's first ladies has brought something unique to their White House role, the general U.S. public has found some more favorable than others.

According to a series of Gallup polls dating back to 1969, former president George W. Bush's wife, Laura Bush, has received the highest approval ratings as first lady in recent U.S. history.

When asked how they felt the Texas native was handling her job as the first lady, Americans gave Laura Bush historically high approval ratings over the course of three years -- with a 74 percent approval rating in 2003, and 85 percent and 82 percent ratings in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

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Laura Bush was a prominent White House figure during her Washington D.C. tenure. As her husband worked to pass his "No Child Left Behind" legislation, Laura Bush also focused her first lady efforts on education. In 2001, she partnered with the Library of Congress in launching the annual National Book Festival -- an annual literary event that brings together best-selling authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings and other activities. Bush also advocated for salary increases and training bumps for Head Start programs, when she testified before the Senate Committee on Education in 2002.

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America's newest first lady, Melania Trump, is perhaps the most unique president's wife to ever hold the position. The Slovenian born former model married President Trump in 2005, and later had their now 10-year-old son, Barron.

Laura Bush's 85 percent rating in 2005 remains the highest in the poll's history. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama also garnered American favor during their respective White House tenures -- with Clinton receiving an 80 percent approval rating in February of 1999 and Michelle Obama receiving a 79 percent rating in April of 2009.

A poll question also asked people if they would personally like to see Laura Bush run for Senate, to which 40 percent answered that they would like to see her run, while a majority 53 percent said they would not like to see her campaign for that office.

Both Barbara Bush and Betty Ford (wives of former presidents George H. W. Bush and Gerald R. Ford) were notably not included in these Gallup polls.

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