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WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns public even if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady.
"You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate," Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain, said in an interview aired on NBC's "Today" on Thursday.
Asked if she would release her tax returns if she was first lady, Cindy McCain said: "No."
Hmm. The Clintons released returns for both Bill and Hillary. The Obamas released returns for both Barack and Michelle. But Cindy McCain's tax materials will remain private.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess this has something to do with the fact that Mrs. McCain is very, very wealthy, with assets estimated at about $100 million, including a private jet the McCain campaign currently leases.
Someone might even be tempted to call the McCains "elites."
I'd just add that in 2004, the Republican National Committee spent quite a bit of time and energy demanding that the Kerry campaign release Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns.
The situation is comparable. John Kerry made less money than his wife, who inherited most of her fortune. The McCains are in a similar boat. In 2004, Teresa Heinz Kerry resisted calls for disclosure, just as Cindy McCain is now. Republicans insisted that all materials, relating to Kerry's income and his wife's, be publicly released, and the Kerrys ultimately agreed. Will Cindy do the same?
It's pretty simple: if we hold the McCains to the standards set by the Republican Party, today's disclosures by McCain are inadequate and incomplete.
Watch it:
