November 29, 2008 1:38PM 

# For the Good of Barack Obama, Mr. Rangel Should Step Aside 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

---

<a class="js-popover-trigger cursor-pointer popover-trigger" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-trigger="click" id="popover-trigger"> 

SHARE 

</a> 

Or am I reading too much into the *Washington Post* editorial, “[Step Aside, Mr. Rangel](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/28/AR2008112802519.html),” when it says:

> At a time when President-elect Barack Obama is holding frequent news conferences to reassure the markets and the American people that he is ready to lead the nation to economic recovery, the last thing he will need is a chairman of Ways and Means caught up in a swirl of serious allegations.

[The cult of the presidency](http://www.amazon.com/Cult-Presidency-Americas-Dangerous-Executive/dp/1933995157), indeed.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).