Caught Mr Rangel as he was discussing his new book on one of the cable shows. He was so relaxed and personable and enjoying himself so much during the interview that I paused to listen.Besides detailing his political rise to be appointed Democratic chair of the Ways and Means Committee, his book, “And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress“, is also testament to accomplishment and achievement regardless of apparent obstacles.
After a frightening, life affirming incident while a soldier during the Korean War, Mr. Rangel, a High School drop out who later went on to graduate from NYU and St. John’s Law School, decided that he could do anything, go thru anything and enjoy it or else.
He may have dedicated his life to public service, but, you can tell he also loves being a “politician” (and all that the profession involves.) And no matter what my ambiguous feelings are about politics, I admire someone who seemed to have adopted the medical profession credo “to do no harm”.