What needs to happen on Sunday's debate? My takes.

Colobo

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Tue May-29-07 11:34 PM
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What needs to happen on Sunday's debate? My takes.

I'm pumped up about Sunday's debate, because I feel this debate will have a lot more weight than the last one, and probably our candidates will swing at each other a lot harder than last time, looking to make some noise just like the Republicans did on Fox News in their last debate.

My takes on what each candidate needs to do to come out victorious on the next debate:

Hillary- Last time, her performance was solid because she didn't make any mistakes, not because she said something remarkable. She came out as an experienced politician who is on her way to the WH... like if the primaries don't even matter. Now, this time she should expect a lot of more pressure from the other candidates, especially from Mr. Edwards (write this one down). If anything, she should be a bit more aggressive and throw some jabs at Obama and Edwards from time to time, just to let people know she is in charge... but for the most part, she should stick to looking presidential, in control of the situation, and talk more about her plans than anything else. A flat performance will hurt her moderately by giving much more credibility to Obama and Edwards.

Obama- He is coming to this one with a lot of pressure, because the media consensus is that he did a fair job on the first one. In reality, he looked nervous at first, but he closed strong. For instance, his main goal for this debate is to achieve what Hillary achieved in the first debate: looking presidential. He needs to project security from the start and try to talk substance in 60 seconds. Now that he's come up with concrete plans, expect the other candidates, especially Hillary, Richardson and Edwards (apart of the moderator) to try to question them. He needs to be ready to sell and defend his new proposals without staying on the defensive all night. In fact, he should put his ideas and plans on the forefront and, if possible, use them to set up discreet attacks on Hillary and Edwards, but mostly on Hillary. Avoid getting in a match with Edwards, because Hillary will be the winner. If Obama screws this one up, his campaign is in trouble.

Edwards- John is on a tough spot right now. He is the candidate with the most detailed plans and it would look like he has what it takes to be the next president, but he's stuck in a distant 3rd because the media doesn't seem to be taking him seriously. They have been nailing him on "apparent inconsistencies" that, as trivial as they look, are converting John in late night show material. He's being getting really bad press and he needs to come out swinging to gain their respect. Last time his performance was flat, so flat that it didn't make any difference at all... for anyone. Given the fact that he's got some heavy duty plans, he needs to put them out there from the start, and pay little or no attention to media-created controversies. EDWARDS CAN'T BE ON THE DEFENSIVE. He needs to nail Obama and Hillary hard and constantly; force them to debate point by point with you. Exploit their weaknesses. We need to see a lion this time in John Edwards. If he doesn't score a KO on this one, he's done.

The rest, with all due respect, do not count at this point.