UPDATE 3-Obama's wife joins push to court US working class

(Adds voter comment from Jeffersonville forum)

By Caren Bohan

INDIANAPOLIS, May 1 (Reuters) - If Michelle Obama had her way, her husband Barack would be a teacher, a writer, a singer, a dancer -- anything but a politician with the chance to make history as the first black president of the United States.

She described to an audience in Indianapolis how they struggled, like any other young couple in Middle America, to raise two children and pay off debts.

"We are still so close to the lives that most Americans are living," she said. "And I don't know about you but for most of my lifetime, I've felt disconnected from Washington."

The Obamas hope the "regular guy" narrative will resonate with the white working class voters that the Illinois senator has had trouble winning over and who may be the key to his White House bid.

Cast as an elitist by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic Party nomination, and John McCain, the Republican senator he could face in November's presidential election, Obama has turned to his wife to bolster his "close to the ground" credentials.

"We're a young couple with small kids with all the challenges and the emotions and the stresses that come with raising kids, like being a working mom," said Michelle Obama, 44, who is on leave from her job as hospital administrator and now divides her time between campaigning and raising the couple's two daughters -- Sasha, 6, and Malia, 9.

Though she is a Harvard-trained lawyer like her 46-year-old husband, she said the couple was not far from the years of paying off student loans and working to "keep up with bills."