"Fiorina, 65, is a sturdily built man, with graying hair combed back on a block-like head and a somewhat taciturn manner."

How to talk about the political spouse who's a man.

As the husband of Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard executive now running for president, Fiorina plays an important role for the campaign. Political spouses typically find themselves referred to as a candidate�s �secret weapon,� trusted with �humanizing� their otherwise remote/robotic/pompous partners. Is it sexist to reduce women to little more than props for their politically ambitious husbands? Is it silly to call someone who has a public role on a campaign a �secret�? Can the new crop of political husbands escape the burdens of playing campaign humanizer? Yes, yes and no.