Ann Romney: We'll have to "unzip" the real Mitt

Ann Romney, wife of the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, says her husband is not a "stiff" kind of guy -- contrary to how some people may perceive him.

When asked in an interview with Baltimore's WBAL radio if she has to fend off criticism about her husband's allegedly "stiff" personality, Ann Romney laughed it off. "I guess we better unzip 'em and let the real Mitt Romney out, because he is not," she said. 

"It is so funny to me that that is the perception out there because he is funny, he's engaging, he's witty and he's always playing jokes," Romney added. "When I met him when I was a teenager, he was the life of the party."

The radio host also asked Romney about her sons' nickname for her: The Mitt Stabilizer.

"I have been known at times by my sons, that is the name that they call me - is the Mitt Stabilizer," said Romney. She explained: "Mitt can get very intense and I have the ability to kind of talk him off the rail sometimes."

Some see Ann Romney as one of the former Governor's greatest assets on the campaign trail -- and according to a recent Politico report, a possible secret weapon in the general election. Lately, she has been a visible presence on the campaign trail.

"I think most of the time people see him in a debate setting or something else so that's why I like getting out there and being able to let people see the other side of Mitt," she said Monday.