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Candidate wives court voters The women behind the men running for president play the essential role of humanizing their husbands.
Michelle Obama, wife of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, greets the audience at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
Paul J. Richards
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AFP/Getty Images
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Barack Obama, at the time a candidate for U.S. Senate, and his wife Michelle wave to delegates after he delivered his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in Boston on July 27, 2004.
Charlie Neibergall
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AP
Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of presidential candidate John Kerry, delivers an address on the second night of the Democratic National Convention in 2004.
Bill O'Leary
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The Washington Post
Teresa Heinz Kerry’s address to delegates at the 2004 convention was not as focused on her husband as the remarks of candidate wives are typically. She didn’t get to his platform points until the 12th minute of her speech.
Melina Mara
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The Washington Post
North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole speaks at the Republican National Convention in New York in 2004. Before she was a senator, she was the wife of a presidential candidate, and spoke at the 1996 convention on behalf of her husband, Bob Dole.
David Scull
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Bloomberg News
Former first lady Barbara Bush acknowledges the cheers from the crowd as she speaks before the Republican National Convention in 2000 in Philadelphia. It was Bush’s speech at the 1992 convention that set the blueprint for modern-day first ladies and aspiring first ladies.
Andy Clark
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Reuters
Bob Dole and his wife, Elizabeth, wave from the podium on the floor of the Republican National Convention in San Diego in 1996 as confetti falls. Elizabeth Dole spoke at the convention on behalf of her husband, who was vying for the U.S. presidency, but she had her own political aspirations.
J. Scott Applewhite
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AP
Elizabeth Dole, wife of Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, speaks at the 1996 convention. The wives of presidential candidates in the modern day are often tasked with portraying a little-seen side of their husbands.
Ron Edmonds
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AP
Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in New York in 1992 as his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton , center, and daughter Chelsea, stand by, after the roll call vote gave him the nomination.
Greg Gibson
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AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, is seen after she spoke to the California delegation in New York during the Democratic National Convention in 1992.
Richard Drew
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AP
U.S. President George Bush and his vice president, Dan Quayle, attend the 1992 Republican National Convention with their wives, Marilyn Quayle, left, and first lady Barbara Bush. While the wives of presidents and presidential candidates haven’t always played a public, political role in campaigns, Barbara Bush set the standard for the modern-day stump-for-my-husband speech with her remarks at the 1992 convention.
Paul J .Richards
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AFP/Getty Images
First lady Barbara Bush reacts as a large balloon falls while President Bush looks out to the crowd at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in 1992.
John Duricka
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AP
Then-president Ronald Reagan and wife, Nancy, look up as red, white and blue balloons descend from the ceiling of the Superdome in New Orleans at the Republican National Convention in 1988.
Amy Sancetta
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AP
Former President Ronald Reagan laughs as his wife Nancy holds up a T-shirt she was given at the Republican National Convention in Houston's Astrodome in 1992.
Joe Marquette
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AP
GOP presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and running mate George Bush wave from the podium at the Republican National Convention in 1980 in Detroit. From left are: former president Gerald Ford and wife Betty; Nancy and Ronald Reagan; and George and Barbara Bush.
Anonymous
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AP
Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, attend the 1980 Republican National Convention.
Michel Philippot
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Sygma/Corbis
U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and first lady Pat Nixon stand on a platform below the podium and shake hands with hundreds of delegates at the close of the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Fla., in 1972.
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AP
Nancy Reagan, wife of then-California governor Ronald Reagan, smiles during the demonstration that followed her husband’s nomination as Republican Party candidate for president in 1968.
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Bettmann/Corbis
Richard Nixon, newly nominated as GOP candidate for president, with his wife, Pat, and their two daughters, Julie, 12, and Patricia, 14, receive applause at the 1960 Republican National Convention.
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UPI file photo
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