Angry in the Great White North

From Newsday:

Rep. Charles Rangel, the gravelly voiced dean of the New York State congressional delegation, launched a blistering attack on Vice President Dick Cheney Friday night, calling him a "sick man" who was unfit to lead.

In a rambling interview on NY1, the Harlem Democrat also said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is the "guy who's running the country" - not Cheney or President George W. Bush.

"Sometimes I don't think Cheney is awake enough to know what's going on," Rangel said. "He's a sick man, you know. He's got heart disease but the disease is not restricted to that part of his body. He grunts a lot so you never really know what he's thinking."

All that from Dick Cheney subdued talking manner, or "grunts", as Charles Rangel would describe?

"Why do you think people are spending so much time praying for Bush's health?" he asked as the show's host, Davidson Goldin, sat stunned. "If he ever leaves and Cheney's in charge there's not very much else to pull together our nation."

Charles Rangel is all about pulling the nation together. If you recall, another one of Rangel's we're-all-in-it-together ideas was to sponsor HR 163, the Universal National Service Act of 2003, along with 5 other Democrats. The bill would have instituted a draft, with the added bonus that college would no longer earn a person a pass:

"If those calling for war knew that their children were likely to be required to serve—and to be placed in harm’s way—there would be more caution and a greater willingness to work with the international community in dealing with Iraq." (New York Time editorial written by Charles Rangel)

The chickenhawk bill was defeated 2 to 402. Perhaps his fellow legislators felt more comfortable doing their jobs knowing the nation was being defended by a professional volunteer army, and not by a mob of hostages kidnapped by Rangel's bizarre law.

I wonder if Charles Rangel will introduce some kind of legislation requiring administration officials to submit to a physical in the case of excessive grunting.

(Hat tip to NealeNews)