Visibility as Judiciary Chairman Holds Opportunities, Hazards : Confirmation Process Puts Spotlight on Biden

For Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Judiciary Committee chairman and Democratic White House aspirant, Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.’s unexpected resignation presents his candidacy with a potential opportunity--but also with a clear and present danger.

The opportunity, which is long-range and uncertain, stems from the additional visibility Biden will receive because he will preside over the confirmation hearings for Powell’s replacement. This exposure could aid Biden’s so far unavailing struggle to break away from the rest of the pack of Democratic contenders.

But Biden will have little control over the sort of attention he gets. That will be determined largely by the kind of jurist President Reagan picks for the court vacancy. For with the makeup of the Supreme Court a vital concern for major Democratic constituency groups, Reagan’s choice could easily touch off a prolonged and bitter controversy that could overshadow Biden’s efforts to promote his own candidacy.

“Biden is going to find himself in a very high-profile, high-pressure position,” said the aide to another of the eight Democrats on the 14-member committee, whose leadership Biden assumed after his party seized control of the Senate last November.

“He is going to be under tremendous pressure from his campaign not to let the committee report a nominee” that would offend two key Democratic constituencies, women concerned about abortion and blacks concerned about affirmative action, the committee staff member said.

Counted Upon for Vote

Powell was a swing vote on both issues, and leaders of both groups generally considered Powell supportive of their positions on these issues.

Moreover, a negative reaction from these and other Democratic constituencies to Biden’s handling of the confirmation proceedings certainly would reverberate through Iowa, where the Democratic delegate selection process begins next February. Iowa chooses its delegates in precinct caucuses rather than in a primary, a method that gives heightened influence to organized groups that can get their members out to the caucus sessions.

Might Generate Excitement

Some Biden enthusiasts believe that a red-hot confirmation battle would help create for Biden’s candidacy an aura of excitement, which so far he has had difficulty generating. Most polls show his standing in the low single digits, and his fund raising appears to have slowed after a fast start.

“A lot of people think Reagan will nominate a hard-line right-winger,” says Mark Siegel, a member of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee, who is sympathetic though not committed to Biden’s candidacy. “Then Joe could really show some stuff.”

On the other hand, Siegel recalled Biden’s memorable outburst against Secretary of State George P. Shultz, whom he excoriated during Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on South Africa, an episode that critics say made the senator seem like a hot-headed bully. “If he starts screaming and hollering again, it will hurt him,” Siegel said.

Interest Group Stigma

In addition, others point out, the Democratic Party is now trying to avoid repeating its experience in 1984, when standard bearer Walter F. Mondale was stigmatized as a tool of interest groups. As a 1988 candidate, Biden can hardly afford to seem during the confirmation hearings as overly responsive to such groups.

And many people would regard him as just that, if he opposed a nominee on purely ideological grounds, American Enterprise Institute analyst Norman Ornstein contended.

“From Biden’s political perspective,” Ornstein said, “the best thing that could happen would be for Reagan to pick someone who could be reasonably objected to on non-ideological grounds” such as cronyism or unethical behavior.

Under those circumstances, Biden could oppose the President’s nominee without offending opinion makers and political independents, Ornstein said. “He could have a leadership role, and it would be a Biden-against-Reagan fight.”

Must Be ‘Very Careful’

But if such circumstances could give Biden’s candidacy a big boost, Ornstein said, “other than that he has to be very careful.”

At first, Biden himself seemed to be treating his new responsibility with uncharacteristic caution. The customarily brash and outspoken senator, who did not learn of Powell’s resignation until he flew into Los Angeles Friday for a stint of fund-raising and television tapings, canceled a press conference and a scheduled appearance on the Cable News Network show “Crossfire.” An aide said the senator was unprepared to discuss the Powell vacancy.

Later on, the senator issued a sternly worded statement in which he appeared to be warning Reagan against nominating an ultraconservative justice who would “alter significantly the balance of the court.” Biden vowed that he would oppose any effort by the Administration to “impose an ideological agenda upon our jurisprudence.”

Still later Friday evening, Biden told reporters that “my role as chairman will be to encourage the President” to appoint a moderate to replace Powell. Biden said he viewed the replacement of Powell as more important than last year’s nomination of conservative William H. Rehnquist to be chief justice.

Apart from the sensitive task of figuring out what position he should take on the qualifications of the President’s ultimate choice, Biden faces a more tangible problem--the loss of time that he would otherwise spend rallying support in Iowa and New Hampshire and raising funds.

Biden, who publicly agonized over whether he would have the time to spare from his duties with the committee before entering the race, now must worry that he doesn’t seem to be shirking his committee duties for the campaign trail.

The length of the hearings, of course, depends on what sort of replacement the President chooses. His nomination of Rehnquist to be chief justice drew objections from various liberal groups and lasted five weeks, in addition to the time required for preparation.

To add another complication for Biden, he must reckon with the presence of another Democratic presidential candidate on the committee, Illinos Sen. Paul Simon. Simon is presenting himself as a candidate in the Democratic liberal tradition and, if he opposes a conservative nominee, that could put pressure on Biden to do likewise.