When Republican presidential nominee John McCain wants to cite the reason why Washington needs to be cleaned up, all he has to do -- beginning today -- is hold up a picture of Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel, who has refused to give up his Ways and Means Committee chairmanship despite his growing ethical scandal.
Rangel made known his intent of staying as committee chair at an afternoon news conference today. While he criticized Republicans for pouncing on his failure to follow the law in rental income and other housing gifts he has received for the past 10 years, Rangel's largest nemesis has been The New Yokr Times. It has uncovered a series of tax filing omissions and oversights that Rangel continues to say were unintentional.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could order him to step down. But that would require integrity. Both parties suffer from a lack of integrity. We know that truth locally through all the excuses Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn has drawn upon for the failure of her office to obey Federal Election Commission law on reporting campaign finances.
Obama's in a tough spot. To affect needed change, he'll have to start with his own party's leadership. Meanwhile, McCain comes off as a bipartisan public servant.
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