Keys to the Final Debate

Obama:

1. Theoretically, you could afford to coast. I don't think so. You have to put McCain away for good, and you have to do it tonight.
2. Don't let McCain make headway on the economic/Wall Street/financial crisis issue.
3. If McCain brings up Ayers, have a solid comeback prepared - and not just Charles Keating. You want to cut through the BS here, and let Americans know that McCain's usage of Ayers is a purely political scare tactic - without much merit.
4. Don't let the format (seated at a table) turn you into boring, mumbling, professorial Obama.
5. Find a way to connect with the American people even in this laid-back format.

McCain:

1. Johnny, I said it last time and I'll say it again - you are in trouble. Big trouble. You have to go outside the box and do something dramatic. Shake the race up again, Mr. Maverick.
2. Be dramatic without being nasty. Like I said last week, you need Saddleback McCain, not Debate #2 ("That One") McCain. If you're old and cranky, you will lose the debate and, with it, the election.
3. Take some ownership of the economic issue.
4. Come across as the steady, reassuring guy Americans would want in charge of a crisis.
5. Tie in your personal story. It's extraordinary, inspiring and heart-warming.