Debate Do's and Don't's

* Be broad, yet specific – If there was one criticism of his grand speech in Germany earlier this year, it was the fact that Sen. Obama spoke largely in glowing terms (mostly about every country but his own), yet offered very few specifics on how America was going to play a prominent role in foreign policy. He needs to borrow a page from Sen. McCain’s playbook and assert that America can and should lead in the most dangerous parts of the world. As for being broad, Obama needs to show he has a fundamental understanding of countries around the world. So mention Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and then weave them together in a larger vision for the world in an Obama administration. Right now, when it comes to foreign policy, the majority of Americans just know Obama wants to bring the troops home. That’s not leadership and it falls short of having true foreign policy bona fides.

* Don ’t ramble – This is one area where Obama sounds and acts more like Joe Biden than any other. His lofty, rambling rhetoric may work on the stump or in a steamy church on Sunday morning, but it won’t work during the debates. Obama needs to answer the question, and then allow viewers to see some of the thought process that went into his decision. But these are debates, not speeches, and there’s little time to massage answers like we all did with our college term papers.

* Sound less like a Democrat – I’ve noticed lately that Sen. Obama is sounding more and more like your average, run-of-the-mill Democrat. They’re not exactly known to be foreign policy experts when you look back through the years. No, what makes him unique and different is his supposedly “fresh” vision fo r the world, so he needs to exhibit m ore of that this evening.