In the midst of his ethics battle, Congressman Charlie Rangel (D-New York) is apparently so focused on his own troubles that he let the truth slip out about President Barack Obama. Asked about the president's comment that "what [Mr. Rangel] wants is to be able to end his career with dignity," he shot back that it is Mr. Obama's dignity that will need Mr. Rangel's protection.

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Evidently backroom deals are such second nature for Representative Charlie Rangel (D-New York) that cutting one seemed like a reasonable way to deal with the ethics charges against him. According to people close to the investigation against the embattled Congressman, Mr. Rangel's attorneys met with Democratic ethics committee staff this week in an attempt to avoid Thursday's scheduled public ethics trial. (source) While no one will publicly state whether Representative Rangel himself or Ethics Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-California) were present at the meeting, it's clear that none of the Republicans on the committee were in attendance. Since at least one Republican on that non-partisan committee must agree to any settlement, holding meetings without them won't help Mr. Rangel's cause.

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Here at TalkingSides.com we're taking a break from the rough and tumble world of American politics to remember one of the more genteel arts. So without further ado, we offer these snippets of lyrical verse:

There was an old lady named Nancy
Who rose to a job very fancy
But she pushed left too hard
And now we regard
Her future in DC as chancy.

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