Ann Romney's time

When Republicans are asked which assets Governor Mitt Romney would have in a 2008 presidential run, they cite his management experience, his polished conservative message, even his made-for-television looks.

Increasingly, they are citing something else: his wife.

Ann Romney, though largely invisible back home in Massachusetts, is winning praise as a warm and witty sidekick as her husband begins to spread his name and promote his possible candidacy around the country. She has taken the microphone at several recent GOP events and been a big hit each time.

''I've seen Laura Bush, I've seen a lot of people," said Jim Runestad, president of the North Oakland Republican Club in Oakland County, Mich., where Mitt and Ann Romney both addressed a 750-person fund-raiser earlier this month. ''If I had to pick a politician's wife, of all I've seen, she'd be the one."

Ann Romney, through the governor's aides, declined a request for an interview. Julie Teer, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in an e-mail that Ann Romney, 56, ''is not a political figure."

''Occasionally Ann accompanies the governor to events in state and out-of-state. Governor Romney will sometimes spontaneously ask Ann to speak so people can hear from her," Teer said. ''As the governor's partner in life, Ann is his sounding board and biggest supporter."

Spontaneity or stagecraft, it seems to be working.

One of the events where Ann Romney impressed onlookers was a private, 50-person dinner on Feb. 17 with local party leaders and activists in Spartanburg, S.C. She sounded all the right notes by talking about the Romneys' five sons, their eight grandchildren, and nearly four decades of marriage, said Rick Beltram, chairman of the Spartanburg County Republican Party.

''Mainline Republicans are really itching for a woman to be more prominent in the Republican Party," Beltram said. ''When [Romney] has a woman that is not only attractive but very well-spoken . . . that's a big asset for him."

The next morning, Ann Romney spoke briefly at a breakfast with 350 Republicans at the Hilton hotel in Greenville, S.C.

''Lord knows she did a good job," said Ed Foulke, chairman of the Greenville County GOP. ''I've seen a lot of the potential candidates and their spouses, and I would have to say that she's going to be one . . . [of the most] outgoing, articulate, and attractive."

Beltram went to the Greenville event, too. When he saw Ann Romney speaking there, he said, it was evident Mitt Romney and his advisers recognized the value of giving her a more prominent role.

''Clearly, it was part of the game plan," Beltram said.

Mitt Romney often talks about his storybook relationship with his wife, which began nearly 40 years ago in Michigan when he was 18 and she was 15. They married in 1969. He calls her ''my sweetheart," and often makes a point of referring to her in speeches -- sometimes in self-deprecating jokes.

Ann Romney has been involved in many charitable causes and sometimes played an active role in her husband's political career. At times, the Romneys have faced questions about whether Ann's health -- she has multiple sclerosis -- would dictate his political future. Mitt Romney told a television interviewer in December he would abandon politics if she became seriously ill.

In the more than three years her husband has been governor of Massachusetts, Ann Romney has mostly kept a low profile. Last summer, the governor appointed her as special liaison to help the state's faith-based organizations and charities get more federal grant money; he said at the time he wanted Massachusetts to better take advantage of a Bush administration initiative to allow religious groups to tap US funding. The announcement drew criticism that Romney was trying to appeal to religious conservatives around the country to further his national ambitions.

As Romney has beefed up his out-of-state political calendar, Ann Romney has traveled on some of the trips, greeting guests after dinners and speeches. But Republicans who have encountered both of them say Romney would be wise to make her more visible.

''I think Mitt is very impressive, but I think she is every bit as impressive as Mitt is," said Brad Zaun, a state senator in Iowa for whom the Romneys attended a fund-raiser in December. ''And my recommendation is that they get her out as much as possible, to talk one-on-one with people."

Republican leaders in several states have encouraged Romney, who is Mormon, to play up his wife and family as a way to blunt prejudice against his religion -- particularly in critical primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina that are home to many religious conservatives.

Candidates' wives have figured larger in presidential races as character and image have become increasingly important components of campaigns, said Julian Zelizer, professor of history at Boston University.

That can be good and bad, he said, noting how John Edwards's wife, Elizabeth, was considered an asset in the 2004 presidential campaign while John Kerry's wife, Teresa, was viewed as aloof and off-putting.

Ann Romney is reluctant to talk to the press in part because of bad experiences with the media, including the Globe, during past campaigns.

Eileen Kowall, a Republican state committeewoman from White Lake Township, Mich., who saw Ann Romney speak at the Oakland County event earlier this month, said she expects Mitt Romney's campaign will use her as a stand-in.

''Spouses act as surrogates for candidates and elected officials more and more because the candidates can't be everywhere," Kowall said. ''And I think that Ann probably has been doing -- and will do -- a very good job of not only standing by her husband but being a surrogate when he can't be there to speak."

At that Michigan event, Ann Romney delved a bit into policy, promoting some of her husband's initiatives in education, according to those who were there. But some Republicans say it is often less about the positions spouses articulate than how they relate to people, and how genuine they are.

''People like to hear from the spouses of candidates, not so much to evaluate them on politics . . . [but to learn], 'Are they like me? Do they have the same issues?' " said Dennis Cowan, chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party. ''I think she handled all those things really well."

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.