Things Biden can do better in the second and third debates

[woodley park]

I think there's widespread acknowledgement here that Biden came out in top in the first debate. He avoided having a 'senior moment', stuck up for himself in the face of Trump's relentless and boorish attacks, and even used a few moments to connect directly with Americans.

That said, there's always room for improvement. I noticed a few things that Biden needs to be better prepared to speak about in the second and third debate.

1. Come up with an answer on court packing. I forget whether Wallace or Trump asked Biden about this, but either way, I was not satisfied with Biden's answer. I think given his lead, he can afford to come out and say that he is not in favor of court packing. After all, if he can come out against de-funding the police, he can come out against court packing. Dodging the issue the way he did makes folks suspicious.

2. Stop being afraid to be associated with law enforcement. Biden declined to state a single law enforcement officer or group that supports him, and vice versa. This just seems ridiculous. Voters know that not every police officer is bad. Biden shouldn't be ashamed to have the backing of police unions and the endorsement of current and former police chiefs. And there's no reason why he can't balance that by also noting endorsements from BLM and other justice advocates.

3. Remind the audience of the Trump family's corruption. Trump has some nerve to go after Hunter Biden, especially considering how he and his family have routinely bilked the IRS and, since getting into the White House, fleeced the American taxpayer. If he goes there again, Biden should return fire. He took the high road this time, but Trump needs to be confronted with his own corruption.

4. Remind folks that Trump made his bones through birtherism. Trump liked to bring up Biden's involvement in the crime bills of the 1990s, in order to drive a wedge between Biden and younger black voters. Biden should remind these voters that Trump's whole political career was launched by his embrace and propagation of a racist conspiracy theory that claimed that our first black president wasn't a real American citizen.

Thoughts?

[woodley park]

Looks like we may not get a second debate for a while yet, but I thought it would be worth re-visiting the court packing issue after last night's veep debate. Seems like the Biden campaign is working towards an answer, but they seem unwilling to outright say what they will or won't do.

How would this answer work?:

Our campaign is about taking America forward, not backward. Our campaign is about decency. Our campaign is about restoring our institutions, and with that, America's faith in our democracy -- our very system of government. Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have done so much to weaken those institutions, to undermine our democracy, and to erode our values. We don't support escalating their nefariousness. We believe the court should have nine Justices. I'll say it again -- the court should have nine Justices. But I'll also say this -- Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have some gall to accuse me of court packing. Nobody has done more court packing than Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. The GOP refused to give President Obama's Justice a hearing because it was an election year, taking an unprecedented step to keep the seat open so that they could try and fill it the next year, and now they are rushing through a new nomination just weeks before the election. Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell, why are you court packing?