KFI WILL CARRY WEDNESDAY'S DEBATE LIVE. Check out the Election HQ

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." This adage may be the reason that President Obama and Mitt Romney will avoid using humor during their upcoming presidential debates. But that's a mistake.

Past presidential candidates have used comedy in the debates, and guess what, they won the election. Obviously that's not the only reason they won, but you can't deny it helped them.

Here's something you don't need a high-priced, inside the Washington beltway political consultant to tell you: When you make people laugh, they tend to like you more. It creates a bond with people because your words have caused them to have a visceral reaction: Laughter.

I'm not saying Romney or Obama should come out with series of zingers or one-liners. However, a well-written and well-delivered joke is potentially more valuable in increasing your likability than a $100 million dollar donation from Sheldon Adelson to your Super PAC. (Mitt Romney: I hope you're reading this!)

But keep in mind, all laughs are not equal in the world of presidential debates. A presidential candidate telling a funny joke at an appropriate time in the debate will help him show his human, playful side. Contrast this with comedy caused when a candidate does something awkward or makes a gaffe at the debate. Those don't help. Think Al Gore sighing loudly in his first debate with George W. Bush in 2000- funny for us, deadly for him. And there was George W. H. Bush obviously looking at his watch twice during one of the 1992 debates as if he had somewhere more important to be.

Read more here.