60 Minutes has done Joe Biden a favor in advance of the last presidential debate. The venerable television show released some footage of their interview with Biden that details his plan for judiciary reform. This allows him to treat the issue as already answered when Trump and the debate moderator press him on it. If Biden has his answer down pat, he will be able to wriggle out of one of the last pitfalls that could derail him. In the meantime, his announced position finely threads the needle to give himself some breathing room on a contentious question.

Biden Threads the Needle in a Masterful Way

Biden's plan is for judicial reform, and it is not just a court packing plan. What Biden calls for is a bipartisan commission to study the issue and report back to him within 180 days. Commissions are a time-honored DC tradition as a way of buying time on a hot-button issue. They have been an exit ramp for politicians ensnared in issues such as deficit reduction and Social Security reform. The great thing about a commission is that it gives Biden an unbelievable amount of wiggle room to deal with the issue.

For the Left, Biden is basically telegraphing to them that he intends to do something about the issue. This should be enough to motivate progressive voters to come to the polls. Many feared that the Democrats would simply let the outrage of Mitch McConnell's court-rigging scheme pass without any counter. Biden is signalling that he will not allow it to go unanswered. Combined with Delaware Senator Chris Coons' statement that he would be open to adding justices, it is a sign that something will happen. Coons is Biden's closest confidant in the Senate, and he would have never made such a pronunciation getting out in front of his friend.

At the same time, Biden's plan will draw in conservative legal scholars too in order to get their input. This gives it the impression of being a bipartisan commission. While nobody at all would ever expect the Republicans to go along with any plan, at least they would have had the opportunity to provide some input. Some of their ideas may even be incorporated into the plan.

Court Reform Cannot Be Called Court Packing no Matter what the GOP Says

The truth is that whatever plan emerged from the commission, it may not necessarily end with court packing in the sense that people are thinking about it. There are a number of excellent proposals out there to deal with the politicization of the judiciary, including one from Pete Buttigieg. The commission may very well recommend reforming the court as much as possible to take out partisan politics.

Biden hit his marks well during the 60 Minutes interview footage when he described his position. He was very careful to characterize the plan as possible reform as opposed to packing. This would make it more palatable to Senate moderates if concrete proposals emerge from the commission. Biden will need the support of conservative Democrats such as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

The former vice president also seems to have diffused the issue. As usual, Trump keeps this from even making headlines since the President is in the midst of a spat with Lesley Stahl that is dominating the headlines. So long as Biden can concisely describe his plan during the debate without any stumble, he will have put the issue to bed in terms of not scaring the moderates. At the same time, he will have sent a signal to the Left that he will not be letting McConnell get away with his latest outrage.

What is even better is that the commission may come up with more suggestions to deal with all the young unqualified ideologues that Trump and McConnell have put on the appeals courts. In a single swoop, Biden can help end the hammerlock that the Federalist Society has put on the federal judiciary. As usual, Trump is too unskilled and unsmart to even take advantage of any opening and stick with it. If the election goes the way that it is looking, Trump's legacy of judges can even be diluted.

Credit Joe Biden with yet another deft move in this campaign. For a candidate that the Democrats have been panicking about constantly, Biden has run a masterful campaign for the times. He has nailed it yet again.