USA TODAY: The Burris Problem. “The Constitution is clear on the right of the Senate to determine the qualifications of its members, and Majority Leader Harry Reid was initially correct in opposing the seating of Burris. But in an especially cynical demonstration of playing the race card, a number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus — all of them House members — dared the Senate Democrats to deny a seat to the man who would be the chamber’s only African American. . . . The challenge of dealing with minority officials who run afoul of the law is a pre-eminently Democratic problem and will certainly arise again when the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct makes its report on some questionable activities by Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Rangel is accused of failure to report income, circumventing New York City’s rent-control laws by occupying four of the cut-rate units, not the allowable one, and using official House stationery to raise money for a school of public affairs at the City College of New York that is named for him. In light of the reluctance of Democratic leaders to stand up to the chorus of support for Burris, they could find themselves accused of dealing less aggressively with minority corruption than with malfeasance by whites.” Nah, they’ll make up for that by giving Chris Dodd a pass, too.