America’s aspiring First Ladies, Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain, have plenty of differences, but also commonalities we haven’t considered.

While on different ends of the political spectrum, the wives of Barack Obama and John McCain are united in their open dislike of rough-edged American politics.

Each actually tried to talk her spouse out of running for the White House.

Both are very attractive and known for an elegant sense of style, lending glamour to their respective husbands’ presidential campaigns.

Cindy McCain photos in the new issue of Vogue showed a laid-back and barefoot woman in size 0 jeans. Obama, who has also appeared in the fashion magazine, has been compared to the epitome of class, former first lady Jackie Kennedy.

Both women provide huge emotional lifts to their spouses during the grueling campaign schedule. Barack Obama’s mood brightens visibly when his wife joins him. Cindy McCain has similar, noticeable effects on her husband.

On the flip side, Michelle Obama’s penchant for outspokenness has - and surely will continue to draw criticism, while Cindy McCain is more likely to be reserved when on the campaign trail with her husband.

McCain’s deferential manner puts her in the company of traditional first ladies such as Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush, while Obama has been such a force on the campaign trail that she earned the nickname “The Closer.”

Everything about Michelle Obama breaks the traditional First Lady mould - from her career-driven mentality to her pop culture impact (see the fist-bump the Obamas shared on the night he clinched the Democratic nomination).

America has had non-traditional first ladies before, like Rosalynn Carter and (yes) Hillary Clinton. Will Michelle Obama be the next?

The wives’ backgrounds also illustrate distinct differences.

Michelle Obama is a Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer and current hospital administrator raised by blue-collar parents in Chicago.

The blond, blue-eyed Cindy McCain is a former rodeo queen and cheerleader who holds a master’s degree in special education from USC. She grew up as part of a wealthy family in Phoenix and is the heiress - and chair of - Hensley & Co., one of the largest U.S. distributors for beverage giant Anheuser-Busch.

Cindy has raised four children, three currently in their 20s, and a daughter Bridget, 16, whom she and John McCain adopted from Bangladesh.

Michelle Obama, 44, has two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.

The Obamas met through Michelle’s work as a corporate lawyer and she has always been his closest adviser - and his toughest critic.

The media and public alike have seized upon some controversial Michelle Obama quotes this primary season, including her statement that “for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country.”

The assertive manner in which Michelle Obama presents herself - for better or worse - has made her a lightning rod for controversy.

A day after that quote, the typically demure Cindy McCain made a point of saying at a campaign rally, “I am proud of my country. I don’t know about you, if you heard those words earlier - I am very proud of my country.”

But she too has drawn criticism at times, such as when she refused to release her tax returns critics said her lack of transparency was at odds with her husband’s message of financial and ethical openness in government.

McCain - who made about $6 million in 2006 - eventually relented. She has also been through addiction in the early 1990s to painkillers, originally for back pain, and which at first she kept secret from her husband.

Though only 54, Cindy McCain suffered a stroke four years ago that nearly claimed her life. Fortunately, she has made a full recovery.

What type of role will the candidates’ wives play in the general election - and which one of them will be the next First Lady?