( CNN ) -- Robert Barnett , a prominent Washington attorney , has worked on eight national presidential campaigns , focusing on debate preparation . He played the role of George H.W . Bush in practice debates with Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and with Michael Dukakis in 1988 , and practice debated Bill Clinton more than 20 times during the 1992 campaign . He also played the role of Dick Cheney in 2000 and 2004 and helped prepare Hillary Clinton for 23 primary debates for the 2008 nomination . Barnett spoke with CNNI 's Michael Holmes . Robert Barnett has been in practice debates with Democrats from Geraldine Ferraro to Bill Clinton . CNN : How does Tuesday night 's town hall format differ from other debates ? Barnett : The individuals will not necessarily express the question as a journalist would . So , for example , one of these people will probably not ask about Internal Revenue Service Code section 341 , but rather will ask about their taxes and their tax burdens and what they care about with respect to taxation . And so you have to be very careful to be sure you understand what the individual is asking about and you have to be particularly careful to answer the question , because if you do n't , you risk alienating the questioner and the audience and the listeners . CNN : You 're in a unique position . You have prepped , I think , seven or eight presidential campaigns . You 've done debate prep , you 've stood in and played the role of Dick Cheney and others . What 's that like ? What are you trying to do to prepare the candidate , any candidate ? Barnett : If I 'm playing the surrogate , if you will , if I 'm the Republican for a Democrat , I try to prepare myself -- not to imitate ; I 'm not Darrell Hammond or Dana Carvey . I 'm not that talented . But I try to be ready with what my candidate that I 'm playing , if you will , has said -- the exact words used , the way they counterattack , the way they attack . And I try to make sure that the candidate I 'm working with , meaning the Democrat , has heard just about everything that they could hear from their opponent before they ever walk on the stage . CNN : Do you try to bait them , get them to bite a little and then say that 's not what you should be doing ? Barnett : Well , it can get pretty contested . When I prepared with Rep. Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 when she was running against then-vice president George Herbert Walker Bush , I baited her a lot and she got so angry with me that she frequently walked over to me and slugged me on the arm . So I left the process black and blue . CNN : When you 're doing that sort of thing , how direct can you be with the candidate ? Or do you have to treat them with a bit of kid gloves ? Barnett : I treat them with no kid gloves . It 's fair to say I 'm direct , I make sure they hear everything from me before they hear it on the stage and maybe hear it even a little more aggressively so they can be prepared .
Robert Barnett : Candidates must make sure they answer town hall questions . Comment: Barnett : I try to prepare candidates for the attacks they will face . Barnett says he 'll make the case aggressively to prepare candidates .