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Jeri Thompson, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney, Elizabeth Edwards, and Cindy McCain put aside the competitiveness of the campaign trail on Tuesday to talk about being political spouses.

(CNN) – Fifteen years after Hillary Clinton made her then-controversial comment about being a career woman and not staying home to bake cookies, the wives of five contenders for the White House gathered in California Tuesday to discuss their involvement in their husband’s presidential campaigns.

The wives’ discussion with moderator Maria Shriver, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, began with Shriver pointing out that the gathering was historic. “Never before,” Shriver said, have political spouses, “gathered together to talk about their lives, to talk about the campaign trail, to talk about what it’s like when someone from your family gets up and runs for president.”

And talk they did. Shriver asked Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle, what she had feared or worried about in the early days of her husband contemplating a run for the White House. “You always worry about your life getting sucked out from under you,” Mrs. Obama responded. “I’m very practical, I have to know how is this going to play out.”

For her part, Jeri Thompson, wife of Fred Thompson, sought to dash persistent reports that she has a prominent, strategic role in her husband’s presidential campaign. “I have a one-year-old,” Thompson said. “And, I have a four-year-old. That’s my main role,” Thompson said. “Other than that, I do what I can to help when he asks me.”

Elizabeth Edwards was not as modest as Jeri Thompson in explaining her involvement in John Edwards’ campaign. “We do know our husbands best. Sometimes if we think he’s being misrepresented or misserved by something, it’s our jobs as wives to say, ‘you know, I don’t think that’s really the best thing,’” said Edwards.

Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain and a veteran of a past White House run, brought a different perspective to the discussion. “My boundaries changed from 2000 to this race,” she said. “I have now myself learned to say no” to some of the demands of a presidential campaign.

Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann, spoke about the pressures of being a political wife. Gesturing towards Elizabeth Edwards, Romney rejected the assumption that statements or stances taken by the women always originate from their husband’s campaigns. “You have to be who you are. You have to have the flexibility and the luxury of expressing yourself for who we are as individuals,” said Romney.

The discussion was part of the 2007 Women’s Conference, a non-partisan annual event put on by California’s governor and first lady for the last twenty years. In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday, Shriver said former President Bill Clinton did not participate in the spouses’ panel because of a scheduling conflict and that Judith Giuliani, wife of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, “declined to attend.”

– CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Ann Romney stars in a new Web ad highlighting her large family.

(CNN) – As part of his ongoing effort to reach out to the GOP's conservative base, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released a new Web ad Thursday emphasizing the importance of family values by showcasing his five children and ten grandchildren.

In the ad, the former governor’s wife, Ann Romney, states, "Mitt says there's no work more important than what goes on within the four walls of the American home."

The ad, entitled “Our Home,” has been posted on YouTube, the official Romney campaign Web site, and Mrs. Romney's personal Web site, AnnRomney.com. It is a montage of both home videos and professionally produced clips of Romney surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

The ad was released a day before Romney is scheduled to attend the conservative “Value Voters Summit” in Washington. The summit, which is sponsored in part by Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council, may prove to be an important forum for the Republican contenders to address the role of religion in public life. Romney’s Mormon faith is widely perceived to be a concern among many of the conservative Christian activists currently being courted by his campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor drew renewed criticism from his opponents last week for continuing to claim that he is the candidate who best represents the GOP’s conservative base.

– CNN Political Assignment Editor Katy Byron

Watch Abbi Tatton's report about Ann Romney's new Web site.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Ann Romney, who is very active in her husband's presidential campaign, is featured in a new Web site that highlights her experiences on the trail, the Romney family and her ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Ann Romney’s husband, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. In a video greeting, Romney said she hopes to give Americans a unique perspective into her family's life and the campaign.

"I hope people from across the country will get to know a little bit more about me, my causes and the importance of family in my life," she said in a statement. "Our campaign is doing so many creative things online, and I'm proud that this site will be a part of that."

– CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich