Hail the conquering cheater!

Young people, pay homage to this week’s heroes. Emulate them. Follow in their footsteps. Learn to cheat and someday the rest of us may honor you.

That seems to be the message lately. This week, New York Congressman Charlie Rangel won his primary election. Charlie the cheat.

Charlie cheated on his taxes. Which, of course, is par for the course with a lot of political types. Half of the president’s economic team had not paid their taxes when they were nominated for office.

Charlie cheated on reporting his assets to Congress. He cheated when he cornered four rent-controlled apartments for his operation. He cheated when he extorted money. From outfits that had business before his congressional committee. He had them give big bucks to his Charles B. Rangel charity. The good ol’ reliable pay-to-play scam.

The House censured him. Dishonored him. Shamed him. Well, the shame passed pretty quickly. Nancy Pelosi forgot all about that. A week ago she honored him with an endorsement in his primary campaign. So did Governor Cuomo. Isn’t that wonderful? The leader of a state and the leader of the Democrats in the House honor this crook with their endorsement. Pay attention, young folks. Recognize the heroes in our midst.

Oh, well, you say. This is just politics. We all know politicians cheat all the time. Unlike, say, sports heroes.