Rangel: ‘A lot more is expected of presidents’

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), perhaps the most prominent black supporter of presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), offered a mixed defense of her campaign’s handling of racial issues Tuesday.

“Bill Clinton has been more emotional than presidential,” Rangel told a group of business leaders at a breakfast. “A lot more is expected of presidents.”

{mosads}Rangel was pressed on the comments of former President Bill Clinton comparing Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) South Carolina primary win to the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s wins in 1984 and 1988. The remarks have been criticized as implying that Obama’s appeal does not extend past black voters. Rangel said he believes the comments were taken out of context and that Clinton was led into making the remarks by reporters.

“I do hope I can verify that it was a series of questions where that was the only answer,” Rangel said.

The lawmaker was speaking at a breakfast held by the Institute for Education, a longstanding forum for policymakers that was put “on the record” for the first time.

Rangel did not bother to hide his disdain for the Senate, where Democratic leaders are considering changing the carefully negotiated economic stimulus package which will be fast-tracked to a vote today in the House.

“Our poor Democratic leadership,” he said, referring to Senate leaders. “They’re held hostage. Sometimes I think they like it, because they sure do like each other.”