The last of the Romney-Obama debates are tonight at 8 p.m. I, for one, am totally excited. I’m looking forward to more meme-inducing quotes and moderator steamrolling. And, of course, this kind-of-a-big deal issue we call foreign policy.

I want to hear what the candidates have to say about Turkey and Syria, China and of course, the concerns in Libya. But how they approach and present the information is almost as important as the information. The truth of the matter is, if they come across negatively in any way, it may affect the points they make. Here is, in my opinion, what the candidates need to do to win over the undecided voters … and to also not look or sound awful in the process.

Obama needs to show us that he’s in it to win it.

The Obama that came out during the second presidential debate when there was talk of the situation in Libya? That right there is the Obama I want to see on TV. He spit fire when he said he was going to find out exactly what happened, and it was the most feeling I saw in a long time. It showed he cared. Unfortunately, it only lasted for about five minutes, and he went back to his normal, debate routine — looking like he had better things to do. I know Obama is loved for his calm, “I got this manner,” but there’s a difference between being the rock in a storm, and acting like you just don’t care.

Obama should bring his knowledge on other countries without sounding like a know-it-all.

Obama has dealt with foreign policy in the past, and it hasn’t gone too bad. However, the challenge is to make sure he brings his homework to the table … without sounding overconfident because he’s done this before. There are new problems and challenges on the horizon, so he needs to bring it home and assure us that he’ll bring that dedication back from his first term, but he should also stress that he’s willing to improve.

Romney needs to stop sounding smarmy.

Look, I get what he was trying to say when he was looking for qualified women on his team as governor. Maybe. However, he couldn’t have said “he was given the names of women” or he found “several women” that would have been great in his cabinet. Nope, he had to go and put them in a binder. This made him sound like he had a list full of women in the palm of his hands, even though he was speaking on women’s pay rights.

It’s not like Romney is constantly making gaffes like this left and right, but that one was enough to set him apart, and not in a good way. He needs to watch out for any comments like that tonight because the last thing any presidential candidate needs is to look like a tool.

But Romney also needs to toughen it up — for this debate, at least.

He doesn’t need to be more of a smarmy-mouth — I’ve already established that. And it was good that he was able to soften up during the first debates. Before, I thought him a bit impersonal, so for me, he did OK trying to rebuff that. And, as a side note, I appreciate that he put his debate skills into good use. However, this time around, he needs to appear stern. This is his official last chance to show America that he can guide us out of the hope-forsaken predicament we call “debt,” and he needs to come off as a protecting father figure towards our dollars.

Regardless if Romney and Obama perfectly appeal to the people via their debate actions, it will be interesting to see how the gentlemen handle foreign affairs. And whether they follow my advice or go it their own way, both candidates have shown that they have the qualities, phrases and some facts to make this debate entertaining.

Tolu is a senior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected].