And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since
From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress,
by Rep. Charles Rangel & Leon Wynter


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

Rep. Charles Rangel, the US Representative from Harlem, New York City, appeals to the reader as just a regular guy. He tells us in this book of his modest beginnings in a poor Manhattan neighborhood; of his military awards as a Sergeant in Korea; and of his working his way through law school.

Rep. Rangel seems to love serving in the House. He writes with relish of his ambitions to chair House committees, and his accomplishments once he achieves those posts. The framing device of the book is that each episode concludes with "And I haven't had a bad day since." Readers may wonder if Rangel might try for Hillary Clinton's open Senate seat -- it seems unlikely, if the attitude he presents here is at all true -- he just enjoys being where he is, and living the adventure he has lived.

There are plenty of anecdotes about rubbing elbows with the politically powerful -- including claiming to be the first to suggest to Hillary Clinton that she run for the New York Senate seat. Rangel omits discussing the ethics investigations he is currently undergoing (the book was written in Nov. 2006; the investigations didn't start until mid-2008; but the investigated events did occur before the book's publication). The ethics investigations include paying below-market rent for several Manhattan apartments; failing to report rental income from abroad; and improper use of House perqs such as Congressional letterhead and a Congressional parking space. It's unclear at this time how the ethics investigations will be resolved.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, December 2008

Click on a participant to pop-up their full list of quotations from Bad Day Since, by Rep. Charles Rangel (number of quotes indicated): Charles Rangel (8) George W. Bush (2) Hillary Clinton (1) Newt Gingrich (1) Richard Nixon (1) Ronald Reagan (1) OR click on an issue category below for a subset.

Budget & Economy    Newt Gingrich: 1995 budget: cut taxes, regulations, & spending.

Free Trade    Charles Rangel: World Bank exerts US influence as first among unequals.    Charles Rangel: 1980s: Caribbean Basin Initiative: lower tariff barriers.    George W. Bush: Linked trade agreements to participation in Iraq War.

Government Reform    Charles Rangel: 1974: On Watergate Committee, focused on Nixon's conviction.

Homeland Security    Richard Nixon: OpEd: Used national security as alibi to protect cronies.

Principles & Values    Charles Rangel: Attitude of gratitude: I haven't had a bad day since.    Charles Rangel: Initiated idea of Hillary running for Senate in New York.    George W. Bush: OpEd: Encroaches civil liberties, Constitution, & democracy.    Hillary Clinton: Enthusiastic when Rep. Rangel suggested NY Senate race.

Tax Reform    Ronald Reagan: 1985 State of the Union speech: cut taxes; slash spending.

War & Peace    Charles Rangel: Troops suffer by not knowing when they'll come home.    Charles Rangel: 2003: Lonely voice opposing pre-emptive war.    Charles Rangel: Opposes war politically, out of respect for soldiers.

Click for quotations from other sources by:
• Charles Rangel
• George W. Bush
• Hillary Clinton
• Newt Gingrich
• Richard Nixon
• Ronald Reagan