If I was Mitt Romney in the final Presidential debate on Monday I would carry a little plastic duck in my jacket pocket.

Groucho Marx had a game show called "You Bet Your Life" where he would engage guests in conversation.  If they happened to say the secret word, which was revealed to the studio audience at the beginning of the show, a toy duck resembling Groucho with a mustache, glasses and a cigar in its bill would drop from the ceiling with a $100 bill for the winner.

On Monday night the President is going to argue that on September 12 he labeled the Benghazi attacks as an act of terror, even though he was referring to the 2001 attacks when he used that phrase.  Mitt and Barry will continue argue about how the President, Jay Carney, Susan Rice and others refused to admit for about two weeks that it was indeed a terrorist attack.

At the appropriate opportunity Mitt can pull the duck from his pocket and present it to the President, with a quick explanation of the show, and let him know that he was lucky enough to say the secret word.

It is unlikely that Mr. Obama has heard of "You Bet Your Life", but many Americans have.  Obama will flash that deer caught in the headlights look and Mitt can drive home the point that the President bet the lives of his diplomats on his failed Middle East policies, and lost.

Jon Pavlish

jpavlish@johnmorrell.com