When I was a child, my mother would tell me, “Lack of planning on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on mine.” This was certainly true when she said it to me, but I’m not sure the Biden campaign would stand for it. Their refusal to address voters’ concerns about the president’s age and acuity hit a wall Thursday with the special counsel’s report, and now they have Washington Democrats scrambling to put out a five-alarm fire. That might sound extreme, but the report prompted a last-minute press conference with the president and in-person statements the next day from the White House Counsel’s Office spokesman and the Vice President. If that’s not emergency mode, I don’t know what is.

Fortunately for the president, while he and his campaign have been avoiding the issue, some Democratic commentators haven’t. They’ve been writing about how to address the matter for years. Despite the campaign’s refusal to take their advice, they’ve continued to offer it, and now their time to be heard may — and I emphasize may — have finally come. Some are frustrated it took so long. Others, like today’s columnist, are remarkably gracious. Regardless of the tone, however, what’s important is that the campaign listens. If it doesn’t, last week will be just one of many avoidable emergencies for them and national Democrats as a whole.