Relatives star in new wave of campaign ads [video]

As the Christmas holiday approaches, Republican presidential candidates are putting a warm and fuzzy spin on their campaign ads, breaking out wives and children to attest to their faith and personal character.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul talks about his father’s “commitment to faith, family and our constitution,” while Ann Romney implores voters to “look at how they’ve lived their life” – a not-so-veiled reference to rival Newt Gingrich, who is on his third marriage and has a history of infidelity.

Anita Perry, meanwhile, makes her first appearance as the central figure in an ad for her husband, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. (Video below.)

“It’s an old-fashioned American story,” she says. “I married my high school sweetheart. But first I had to wait as he volunteered for the Air Force and flew planes all over the world.”

She goes on to explain how her husband returned from duty “to farm with his dad.”

“We grew up in small towns, raised with Christian values, values we still believe in,” she says. “And we know Washington, D.C. could use some of that.”

Rick Perry then appears from out of nowhere, crouches next to his wife and declares: “I’m Rick Perry and I really approve this message.”

kim.geiger@latimes.com