Debate Tickets: getting a front row seat

The Clinton-Trump debate is tomorrow night, Monday, at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. Two New Yorkers go at it. Donald Trump, no relation to Don Rickles, is a native born New Yorker from Queens who moved to Manhattan as soon as he could get there. Hillary, a naturalized New Yorker, is a refugee from the Midwest who moved to New York as soon as she could get out of Arkansas.

As the candidates prepare for weigh-in, oops, I mean kickoff, no I mean for the ads to be finished by 9:00 PM (Eastern time) for the beginning of 1 1/2 hours of must see-TV--  we all hope for a night of mudslinging, innuendo, gossip, insults and and predictions of a dire American future should the other guy, or gal, make it to the White House.

And this is where the psy-ops, psychological operations, come in. The Psy-Ops, psychological operations warfare, going at the moment concerns guests of Hillary and Donald, that is who they will seat in the front row of the debate just to rattle the opponent.

Hillary has saved a seat for Mark Cuban-- owner of the Dallas Mavericks, star of Shark Tank, and a recent arrival to Hillary Camp. He actually considered signing up for Trump's vice presidential candidate. But that was months ago.

Trump countered strongly with suggestions he would bring in Gennifer Flowers, Bill Clinton's mistress for a dozen years.

This tactic recalls Godfather II-- where the mob brings in a old-school grandpa mobster from Sicily, from the days of omertà to Washington, DC. Frankie Pantangeli is about to testify in front of a Washington grand jury and name names. Omertà  means silence and never ratting out a fellow Mafioso. Frankie sees his old school mafioso in the back of the hearing room and quickly reverts to "I don't know nothing." Frankie takes his own life before ratting out his brothers. The honorable route.

Honor is a thing of the past... as Mark Cuban and Gennifer Flowers certainly attest. Cuban likes to be in the national discussion, whether baiting the refs at his team's NBA games or starring on a reality TV competition show. Who does that remind you of?

Gennifer spells her name with a "G"-- and is called a showgirl.

Ironically, the audience will be completely out of view, literally in the dark. Trump probably won't be able to see Cuban, unless Cuban charges the stage a la Kanye West. Gennifer Flowers, we learn, has not actually been invited by Trump. Trump may see a downside to going too far with the adultery card.

The whole thing reminds me of the motley assemblage of celebrities on the cover of the Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. I always liked the image of Sonny Liston. Where's Sonny when you need him?

The only image that matters will be the body language of the contestants, er, the candidates. If we've learned anything it is that how you comport yourself and how you feel on stage with 80-100 million watching is what really matters. The camera is an X-ray machine and the audience sees the candidates to the core of their being. That clarity seals the deal, one way or the other.