Is Obama supporting Charlie Rangel?

Scandal-plagued Rep. Charlie Rangel (D., N.Y.) wants to know where President Obama stands on Charlie Rangel.

Asked by a reporter if the president was endorsing his reelection, the 81-year-old Rangel replied: "God damn, that’s a good question."

"I would welcome asking whether or not the president opposes my re-election," he added. "Especially for the primary. I wish you would."

With Obama scheduled to visit upstate New York next week, Rangel has been circulating a campaign flier that includes a picture of him with the president.

Asked if it would be "misleading" to use the photo without the president’s endorsement, Rangel said: "It certainly would be."

In 2010, while Rangel was fending himself against accusations he broke nearly a dozen House ethics rules, Obama said in a television interview that the legendary congressman should end his career with "dignity," suggesting that Rangel should drop his fight and retire. Rangel pressed on, was found guilty of 11 of them, and duly won re-election.

This year, Rangel is facing a challenge from a former presidential aide, Clyde Williams, whose contributors include a number of prominent Washington Democratic figures; and State Senator Adriano Espailat, who, like a majority of residents in the district, is Latino. If elected, Espaillat would be the first-ever congressman of Dominican descendant, a prospect his campaign likened to Obama's historic election to the White House. Longtime district leader Joyce Johnson is also running.