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all times. Candidates are advised to take their cue from Bill Clinton. He got caught coming out of Ron Brown's funeral laughing. Pro that he is, he immediately discovered he was being filmed. Shoulders slumped, head went down and his hand went to his face, ostensibly wiping away a tear. From joy to sorrow in two seconds flat. It played in Peoria.

Body language is something all candidates must master. Pointing is out. Its essential that all four fingers touch the thumb when emphasizing something. Hillary has this down pat. Also, wide sweeping motions signal openness and passion but should be used sparingly. Nodding the head while listening signifies agreement without having to actually commit.

Tears are tricky. For women, they could signify weakness or, if you're lucky, a stray tear can garner you (another) national conversation and points for being human. In men, a gentle misting of the eyes can do wonders for sensitivity ratings. Again, this tactic, to be effective, must be used sparingly. Undecideds may not vote for a sissy.

Democratic candidates must also follow general mandates from their party leaders. If the mud slinging gets to the point of appearing to divide the party, steps must be taken.

Democrats favor a touchy-feely photo-op to give the impression its all in good fun. After a week of trading barbs, Obama and Clinton were required to make-up. They were photographed invading each others space, almost appearing to swap spit. Hands on shoulders, lips planted on each others ears, both mouths going at once, laugh, smile, nodding of the heads, another laugh, touch, touch. Presto, we're really buddies despite what he or she said. John Kerry and John Edwards had this down pat, going into clinch mode ad naseum, hands all over each other, whispering in each others ear every 2 minutes. Hey, it worked with the gay lobby. And the feminists.

Even if a candidate masters all the rules, unexpected catastrophes can and do occur. George Allen found this out the hard way after being caught uttering the word macaca. Obama could lose the race in a hot second if a photo of him smoking made its way to the internet. And Hillary, well, its hard to say. Hillary has shown inhuman resilience in the face of hundreds of scandals that would have toppled lesser mortals. Considering she will go to absolutely any lengths, my bet is she will be able to surmount most unforeseen obstacles. (Don't forget, she still has those 1,000 FBI files.)

All the candidates are to be commended for coming so far. For being able to present whatever image will work best with a particular audience. And for realizing so quickly that the 2008 presidential race will be won based on form, not substance.

Learn more about this author, Nancy Morgan.
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