BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

This week, The New York Times editorial board called on Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) to give up a Committee Chairmanship, while allegations of unpaid taxes are investigated by the House ethics committee.

Adding to the embarrassment, the panel Rangel oversees is the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the nation' s tax laws. Clearly, Rangel is now faced with some taxing problems.

Initially, the Congressman' s response to the crisis was as unusual as it was brilliant. He didn' t cower and he didn' t hide. He asked for an investigation - into himself. Honest mistakes were made, he claims. But then he fumbled. He complained that the tax code is too complex. He also faulted language barriers, saying his inability to speak Spanish hindered his dealings with managers of his Dominican Republic villa.

Calls for Rangel to resign his Chairmanship are mounting; but the Congressman' s challenges are not insurmountable - even in the realm of politics where perceptions of wrongdoing can tank a career just as fast as actual findings of guilt.

With his reputation on the line, Rangel needs to continue to deploy allies such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the New York delegation who have rallied to his side. In this case, messengers that can lend his case credibility - and perhaps more important, political viability - are just as important as the message itself.

He needs to demand a quick resolution. The longer the ethics inquiry drags on, the louder the calls for his resignation will become.

And finally, Congressman Rangel should identify ways to transform the crisis into opportunity. Complaining about the complexity of the tax code garners little sympathy; but vowing to fix a broken system that ensnared one of the nation' s top tax experts is a much more powerful and effective approach. In essence, the message is, "If it can happen to me, it can happen to you - but I' ll do my best to see that it doesn' t."

If the Congressman' s mistakes were truly honest oversights, and if he manages this crisis appropriately, the most he may lose at the end of the day is a few thousand dollars.