Rangel Mulling Retirement?

Go for it, Chuckie. Then you can idle the days away sleeping on the beach. Beats being one of 435 with no power and the strong possibility of your party being in the minority next year.

Charlie Rangel supporters want him to run to keep his seat in Congress this fall, but they are not sure he will.

Rangel is expected to weigh his future in meetings with supporters this weekend, and most are telling him to run.

But at least one confidant wondered if Rangel, 79, would want to be just one of 435 rank-and-file House members after stepping aside as Ways and Means Committee chairman.

"When you reach a certain stage in life, you have to ask yourself if it's worth it," the pal said.

Supporters want him to stick with it, but they are not completely sure he will. "I hope so, I hope so," said Manhattan Democratic boss Assemblyman Keith Wright - though he said he hadn't "spoken with him about that."

If Rangel faced a serious challenge - so far, he doesn't - he'd have to buckle down.

His big problem is the cost of paying several teams of lawyers to defend him against a raft of ethics charges that remain pending. And he has lost the fund-raising clout of leading the tax-writing panel.

"The kind of legal talent he needs is not inexpensive. He's facing investigations on several fronts, and to run a campaign may be too much. Who knows?" said veteran Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

The Harlem powerhouse has spent at least $1.5 million on attorneys since his ethical problems erupted 18 months ago. But he only raised $1.3 million last year, and his war chest was down to $770,000 at the end of 2009.

If any of Rangel's would-be primary opponents got traction, he would need to step up his buckraking both to feed the lawyers and fight off a challenger.

His seat will always stay Democrat so he can basically name his successor. But considering he's already spent 20 terms in Washington, is approaching 80 and is awash in scandal, why not just retire and steal away to one of his island villas?

Pelosi has already thrown you under the bus and don't think for a minute you're ever getting your Ways and Means chairmanship back. You're a huge liability for your party, Chuck.

It's time to go. Maybe you and David Paterson can announce a joint resignation.