Obama will repeatedly bring up other people endorsing his plans (Secretaries of State supporting talks with Iran, Maliki in favor of a timeline, Bush administration sending a negotiator to the Iran talks and conducting operations inside Pakistan) to make him look wise and well-versed by association. Some of it will be a stretch, some will be on point.
McCain will probably bullshit on Iraq in several of the following ways:
* Talking about "extremists" or "militias" without defining them.
* Referring to Al Qaeda in Iraq as if they're the same Al Qaeda that executed the 9/11 attacks.
* Talking smack about Iran's interference in Iraq without mentioning Iran's strongest ties are with Dawa and ISCI, who are America's biggest allies and run the government in Iraq. Bonus points for acting like Moqtada Al-Sadr is Iran's puppet.
* Surge surge surge surge surge surge surge. I've already
ranted on this one.
* Framing the issue as victory/defeat without defining either.
McCain's gonna take credit for talking tough about Putin before it was in vogue. Both candidates will talk about solidarity with Georgia without committing the resources to actually check Russia. Be fun to see if they're pressed about NATO membership and Article Five.
McCain will drop at least one "naive", probably talking about someone not wanting to bomb someone else. Might use "isolation" too.
Obama will bring up his speech against the Iraq war in the first place and will say "ten billion a month" at least once. At least.
Generally, Obama's going to try to fudge the rules by bringing up the domestic economy more than McCain.
McCain will growl at Chavez and maybe Castro some. Obama will say we need to change our Cuba policy but he'll hedge. Obama might talk a bit about better diplomacy in South America generally, and bring up the fact that China's moving in and investing in infrastructure there.
Africa? Lolz. Both candidates will pay lip service to Darfur, framing the issue as one-sided abuse. They both might call it genocide. McCain will pat himself on the back for straight talk if he's the only one.
McCain will rear up on his hind legs, extend his claws, and make menacing gestures at Iran. Expect him to bring up the bogus "wipe Israel off the map" quote.
Obama might say something nuance-y about free trade, cause all the wonks are now saying it's not the absolute positive they thought it would be. McCain will be generically in favor.
McCain will bring up his idea for a new League of Democracies and it will be distinguished mentally-challenged.
I think that's it.
