Michelle Obama to be guest-host on ‘View’

Cindy McCain had hosting duties for April show

Brennan Linsley / AP	Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, was first asked to be a guest on "The View." But she requested, and was granted, a guest-host role, just as Cindy McCain, wife of fellow candidate Sen. John McCain, held in April.

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updated 1:00 p.m. ET June 10, 2008

NEW YORK - Michelle Obama will be a guest host on “The View” on June 18.

The popular ABC daytime talk show had invited her to be a guest this month, but she sent back word that she would like to be a host like Cindy McCain did in April, said Bill Geddie, the show’s executive producer.

“Equal time — that’s hard to argue with,” he said Wednesday.

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Being a guest host will allow Michelle Obama to help interview guests and participate in the opening “hot topics,” or banter about what’s in the news that day. It offers the chance for someone to show a more complete personality than just sitting for an interview and talking about themselves, Geddie said.

Michelle Obama was injected into the campaign when the Tennessee Republican Party posted an online video questioning her patriotism. That prompted her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, to say political opponents should lay off his wife.

When Cindy McCain was guest host in April, comic Craig Ferguson was the lead guest. No guests have been booked for Michelle Obama’s show yet.

Barack Obama has appeared twice on “The View,” once before his candidacy for president. Republican John McCain has been on several times. Geddie said he expected the candidates to seek out a chance to reach “The View” audience during the campaign and be questioned about what is going on.

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“We treat the wives differently than the candidates,” Geddie said. “We’re tougher on the candidates than we are on the wives. We’re trying to get to know them.”