The most transparent administration evah continues to be, well, as clear as mud.

Rep. Charles Rangel reportedly has struck a deal with the congressional panel investigating alleged ethics violations.

A deal.  What kind of a deal we don't know, but this begs the question - WHY?  The man that sat as Chairman of the Ways and Means committee is up on tax violation and ethics charges.  That committee deals with, um, TAXES, among other things.  And he's getting a deal??  Didn't San Fran Nan suggest that she was prepared to "drain the swamp" recently?

I know, I shouldn't be surprised.  They say one thing and do another.  This is what happens with life long politicians.  But you do have to love the strategy involved here.  Charlie has his back against the wall, so what does he do?  He reminds everyone that he served in the military.  He can't defend himself from the charges, because even HE knows he did wrong, so hey, just bring up something good you did 60 years ago - that'll save ya. 

Amid the hubbub, Rangel admitted Thursday morning that he was having a bad day, or a series of them, as he arrived on Capitol Hill for the first public hearing since the charges were announced. 

"Years ago, I survived a Chinese attack in North Korea and as a result I wrote a book that having survived that, that I hadn't had a bad day. Today, I have to reassess that statement, thank you," he said.

Rangel's "bad day" comment was a reference to him being wounded by shrapnel on the battlefield in Korea in 1950. That experience was the inspiration for his 2007 autobiography, "And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since."

Gosh, sorry to hear about your bad day Charlie.  I mean, whoda thunk it?  Violate the public trust and you get busted for it and that makes YOU have a bad day?  I'm going to channel Livia Soprano for a moment - Aaaaawwwww, poor you!

But the punchline here has to be the following:

The 42-member Congressional Black Caucus has warned Democrats against a rush to judgment, and any lawmaker with a significant African-American constituency must consider whether it's worth asking Rangel to quit.

Heh.  So, through it all, we're told to look at the color of his skin.  What a pathetic bunch we have representing us in DC.  I need a shower after reading this.