A former first lady, senator, and secretary of state can barely fill up half of an arena as she tours with her husband across the continent. Meanwhile, a subsequent first lady who never really wanted the job is selling out tickets for her book tour at rock star style magnitudes and prices. And her memoir, Becoming, just became the best-selling book of the year.

The differences couldn’t be starker between Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, who just two years ago were sharing a stage in a failed bid to keep the White House blue. But Obama’s star on the rise and Clinton’s favorability rating sinking below that of Donald Trump’s tell a far more interesting story about American womanhood than American politics.