Sorry, Charlie — 42 years is long enough.
Actually, it’s long past time for Rep. Charles Rangel to stand down. He refuses to do so, and that’s why The Post this morning endorses the candidacy of state Sen. Adriano Espaillat to represent New York’s 15th Congressional District — the seat held by Rangel for 21 terms — in the June 26 primary.
Rangel, for better or for worse, is a New York icon. A genuine war hero, he ousted the legendary Adam Clayton Powell Jr. to get to Congress — then went on to become the first black chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee.
But along the way, the now-81-year-old pol came to believe that the rules didn’t apply to him.
That’s a common Washington affliction, but few transgress as spectacularly as did Rangel. His multiple tax violations, abuse of local laws and various other ethics infractions — many exposed by The Post — culminated in a December 2010 censure by the full House of Representatives.
That would have been an appropriate time for him to retire. But he refused.
Now he’s in a crowded primary field, where Espaillat stands out as a credible alternative — even if he has been a conventional liberal during a 16-year state legislative career.
Sure, he will undoubtedly be one more conventional vote for the House Democratic caucus.
But that goes with the territory.
Ironically, just as Rangel’s first win four decades ago presaged the rise of an African-American political elite, a victory by the Dominican-born Espaillat would signal the rise of an increasingly diverse Latino population in municipal politics.
Unhappily, many New York pols are as reluctant as Rangel to face the future.
Indeed, pretty much the entire New York political establishment — plus Mayor Bloomberg and Ed Koch, among others — has lined up behind the incumbent.
The message that sends is clear enough: Sleaze and corruption are endemic in New York because those who shouldn’t tolerate it actually embrace it.
Should the 15th District — upper Manhattan — be represented by an ethically crippled, 21-term incumbent?
Or is it time for a fresh face, representing a new generation and, yes, an emerging Latino community?
The choice is obvious.