So it was with trademark intractability that embattled Rep. Charles Rangel of New York took the floor of the House of Representatives to deliver an impassioned defense of his record in the face of his current ethics investigation.
During his 30 minute floor speech, Rangel explained how mounting defense bills could ruin him financially, he apologized for any disgrace he has brought to Congress and said he wants to be a role model for new members so they don't make the same mistakes he made.
But the bottom line for Rangel is that he won't walk away from his 40 years in Congress to help his party avoid possible embarrassment in the run-up to key Congressional elections in November -- as has been suggested by Democratic leaders and officeholders in close November contests.
It would be hard to walk away from listening to Rangel's emotional defense on Tuesday and not be moved, but I have to admit that portions of his defense simply didn't pass the smell test for me.
For example, Rangel, who is facing 13 counts of ethics violations including failure to pay taxes and under reporting income, admitted to mistakes but said he never took "even a nickel" that didn't belong to him.
Well, if he didn't pay his taxes fully, regardless of why the mistake occurred, a whole lot of nickels went in to his pockets that didn't belong there.
And on the charge of using official letterhead to solicit contributions to a civic building bearing his name, Rangel said he stood guilty as charged.
In blaming changing House ethics rules for his oversight, Rangel said:
"There has to be a penalty for grabbing the wrong stationery and not really doing the right thing. But it's not corrupt. It may be stupid. It may be negligent, but its not corrupt."
Maybe I simply have a different definition of the word corrupt than Congressman Rangel, whom I grew to know and respect in my days covering the Congress with the Associated Press around 2000.
I'm not sure exactly when sloppiness that benefits you crosses that fine line in to corruption. This is a tough one to call.
Rangel clearly feels his transgressions fall short of official corruption but members of the House Ethics Committee and Rangel's constituents in Harlem, who will vote on his possible reelection in November, may feel differently.
05-Aug-10 - Dr. Cornel West apparently has a bone to pick with President Barack Obama. Over time, the good Dr. West has become increasingly vocal in his critique of Obama, and even went as far as to say that Obama treated him "like a cub scout."
05-Aug-10 - Dr. Cornel West apparently has a bone to pick with President Barack Obama. Over time, the good Dr. West has become increasingly vocal in his critique of Obama, and even went as far as to say that Obama treated him "like a cub scout."
05-Aug-10 - Actress Maia Campbell, who was just recently videotaped performing a host of alleged drug-induced antics on a California street, has been arrested, according to Young, Black and Fabulous.
04-Aug-10 - Omar Thornton's family added some details to early reports that he was the victim of workplace racism that was ignored by higher-ups at the company.
03-Aug-10 - Fred Wills Jr., chef and owner of Big Daddy's: A Touch of the South restaurant in Virginia Beach, is accused of cooking up something a little spicier than gumbo. How about a multimillion-dollar cocaine and marijuana ring.
30-July-10 - Diddy recently told Vibe magazine that Nightline Host Martin Bashir's question about him giving his son a Maybach for his birthday was racist.
28-July-10 - An Ohio woman who helped counsel countless couples experiencing marital discord was found stabbed to death on Monday. The suspect is her husband.
27-July-10 - Mocienne Petit Jackson, a Netherlands woman who claims to be the child of pop sensation Michael Jackson and Diana Ross' sister, Barbara Ross, has filed documents in a Los Angeles court, according to TMZ.
23-July-10 - Could it be that Rangel simply forgot the rules? Did it slip his mind that he wasn't supposed to use his letterhead to get corporate donations for a building named after him, as charged? That's not the Charlie Rangel I knew, but that Rangel will surely be exposed when his trial starts.
23-July-10 - R&B heartthrob Brian McKnight, who was accused of being a long-lost baby daddy to a 14-year-old Florida boy, is not be the child's biological father.
