And now the Democratic debates - be careful

And so, all 23 candidates - or is it 24? - are now hoping to shine and win your favor. Ah yes, so many that they must be sorted into competing tiers. Ah yes, each of these presidential hopefuls seeking to stand out from the crowd, become the special and anointed one and rise to be the leader of the free world.

But in their quest, what must they do? How must they perform to rise above all the others?

They are all obviously non-Republicans, mostly Democrats of course with a few Independents sprinkled in the mix. It is safe to say that they all generally share a similar world view and with some range of variance a similar political philosophy.

Whether they are leading in the polls or not and no matter in what position they occupy on the stage, they must compete; they must beat the other person down.

Perhaps they are given to mischaracterizing a given opponent's record, spinning a tale of their meager childhood as compared to their out of touch, wealthy and privileged competitors, touting their impressive resume, or exclaiming, "No one understands the people's struggles better than I do," etc. The point is make yourself look good and stand out by making selected others look weak, and seem confused as you dominate with spontaneous cross-examination and ignore the parameters of the debate forum.

The most boisterous one is not always the best one. The Republican presidential debates (2016) are a good precedent of what not to do. And so if there must be debates, I say to the candidates, be fair and respectful. I assume you are all smart, knowledgeable and love this country. Don't simply work to hurt the next guy and unfairly promote yourself. We will be watching.

Larry J. Powitz

Arlington Heights