Well, of course it is, you ninny! Why would anyone suspect such a fine, upstanding, honest man like Charlie Rangel of doing anything illegal or unethical?

This from Michelle Malkin in the New York Post:

But that beleaguered panel has been pathetically understaffed, has dragged its feet for two years on the Rangel case and has administered more halfhearted wrist-slaps than all the pushover parents on a season of "Nanny 911."

Clinging bitterly to the moral-equivalence card, Pelosi carped about Bush-era GOP corruption.

Her lips were sealed, however, on the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes between Rangel's lobbyist-funded lawyers and the ethics panel on a deal to avoid a congressional trial.

A full-blown public trial would thoroughly air his self-dealing, habitual bad-faith failures to report income, multiple House gift-ban and solicitation-ban violations, the flouting of franking privilege and letterhead rules, and a fundamental "pattern of indifference or disregard for the laws, rules and regulations of the United States and House of Representatives," as the House ethics statement of violations put it.

But, hey, what about that GEORGE W. BUSH, eh, Pelosi?

Bush-whack all you want. Along the way, Rangel has obstructed House investigators, failed to produce documents and refused settlement offers -- prompting House Ethics Investigative Subcommittee member Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) to reject the Rangel-as-victim narrative. Misfortune didn't befall Rangel. He chose his path.

Only racism can explain why Rangel accepted all those gifts, failed to report income, and snookered the city of New York by violating the laws regarding rent-controlled properties.

And only racism can explain the inexplicable reaction of the ethics commitee. Rather than tossing Charlie into the street, he will be given a "reprimand" by the House. Stay my heart, but I sincerely hope they don't slap his wrist too hard.

After all, it's all about the racism, right?