Following a rousing speech by Michelle Obama, first lady of the United States, at last night's Democratic National Convention, many have asked if Michelle's high favourability and well-received remarks can help her husband's campaign for re-election.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, James Boys, a visiting fellow at Kings College specialising in US government, said speeches like those of Ann Romney and Michelle Obama at their respective party's conventions embody the "evolving role for first ladies" in the United States.

Contemporary first ladies, Boys said, exhibit the "increasing professionalism of politcians and their wives".

They are trying to humanise their husbands and remove from them the stigma of being a cool technocrat ... They are also trying desperately to appeal to the female voters