Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) shredded President Obama over the reports that the White House asked Gov. David Paterson to drop out of the 2010 gubernatorial race, telling the New York Daily News the move is “not presidential.”
“The whole thing to me was not presidential,” Rangel said. “It wasn’t good for the President, and it wasn’t good for the governor.”
The Daily News suspects that Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and one of the most powerful people in Congress, was upset at being left out of the loop.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near it then or now,” Rangel said. “And anyone who has been involved in this has to be embarrassed. Period.”
New York Democrats in both Washington and Albany were reportedly involved in the talks between Paterson and the White House.
Paterson has said several times over the past week that he is still running for governor, with his latest declaration coming during an appearance on Meet the Press this Sunday.
On Saturday night, in fact, Paterson skipped the Congressional Black Caucus gala — a who’s who of African-American political leadership headlined by Obama — because he was reportedly preparing for the show.
