Michelle, Bill and the uber-spouses
Updated on 02 August 2007
They are the ultimate surrogates - every candidate's best asset - and now more than ever they're acting as unofficial advisors and even managers for the presidential campaigns.
Of course - the uber-spouse of them all has to be Bill Clinton - who, it has to be said, draws a mean crowd.
And if anyone were worried about who'd be in charge - he's already confessed he'll be happy to play a traditional role in the White House, even hosting tea parties in the West Wing, if you can imagine such a thing.
Okay, so it's not quite baking cookies, but he's not trying to steal Hillary's thunder.
Another campaign star is Elizabeth Edwards, whose sheer courage in continuing to support her husband's campaign throughout her battle with terminal cancer has inspired widespread admiration.
She's also proving a doughty campaigner in her own right, fiercely protective of her husband - not afraid to take sideswipes at his rivals.
Dubbed the 'ultimate Obama girl', she's just been named on Vanity Fair's 'best dressed' list - but this Princeton and Harvard educated lawyer is no clotheshorse.
Now it's Michelle Obama (pictured above) making the headlines - dubbed the 'ultimate Obama girl', she's just been named on Vanity Fair's 'best dressed' list - but of course, this Princeton and Harvard educated lawyer is no clotheshorse.
She's been busy on the stump too - with a road show across South Carolina, impressing every voter she meets.
Her down to earth style has attracted some criticism - notably the New York Times' Maureen Dowd, who questioned whether poking fun at her husband was 'smart politics' - aksing why debunk the mystique?
And she's had to embrace the humility required of all would be First Ladies - insisting she'd be happy to take a back seat if her husband were elected.
After all, she did give up a $213,000 job as a hospital administrator to support the Barack campaign and promote her brand of the work-life balance.
Interestingly, it's the Republican spouses who aren't faring so well in the press: no Nancy Reagans among them.
Vanity Fair might be gushing over Michelle Obama but they weren't so kind about Rudi Giuliani's wife Judith - dubbing her a 'princess bride' with a full-time personal stylist in tow, and a separate airline seat for her Louis Vuitton handbag.
And Fred Thompson's 40-year old wife Jeri already has her share of detractors - as the normally politically-aware NPR called her a 'trophy wife'.
They claim they picked up the phrase from the New York Times - after a style section article asking 'Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?'
Not to mention rude, it's hugely unfair to Jeri Thompson, who's chalked up years of political experience as a big-time Washington media consultant.
She's proving a key part of her husband's campaign, planning strategy, tactics and staff: indeed, off the record, Mr Thomson has suggested that without her - there's no chance he'd even be in the running.
So let's stop with the sniping and the sexist comments.
From Bill Clinton to Jeri Thompson - the Presidential spouses are proving the most exciting - not to mention influential - figures in this year's race.
And so far, at least, not a cookie-recipe among them.
