This comment was posted on the Miami Herald web site and sen to the Trentonian.

When Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., took the gavel in January 2007 to become the first woman to fill the post of House Speaker, she proclaimed that Democrats would run the chamber ''with the highest ethical standards.'' That was then.

This is now: Rep. Charles Rangel, D.-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, is caught in a scandal in which he didn't pay taxes on property he owns in the Dominican Republic. But Speaker Pelosi is singing a different tune. ''I see no reason why Mr. Rangel should step down,'' she said, brushing aside criticism that it is unseemly -- to say the least - - to have someone who owes back taxes at the helm of the panel that writes tax laws and is under investigation for wrongdoing.

Ms. Pelosi would doubtless have had a field day with this back when she was leading the charge against Republican control of the House by accusing its leaders of fostering a ``culture of corruption.''

It is hypocritical of her not to hold Democrats to the same standard. Mr. Rangel's problems are not limited to the Dominican investment, for which he owes the IRS $5,000. The Ethics Committee is probing reports that he misused rent-controlled apartments in New York. The latest disclosure by the newspaper Roll Call contains still more potential problems, including an alleged failure to report income from the sale of a condo in Sunny Isles.

Mr. Rangel should step down until the Ethics Comittee files a report and his tax returns going back years are examined in a fair and thorough accounting procedure. Even if some problems are the result of an honest mistake, as Mr. Rangel claims, it doesn't inspire confidence to have someone under a cloud at the helm of such an important committee.

If Mr. Rangel won't go voluntarily, Ms. Pelosi should remember that pledge about the ''highest ethical standards'' and remove him as chairman.