A Matter Of Privacy
Kim du Toit
May 9, 2008
11:15 AM CDT
I’m starting to like Cindy McCain more and more. Yeah, I know she’s been involved in philanthropic enterprises for a long time, and adopted a Bengalese girl with medical problems, and so on.
All good, worthwhile stuff, and that’s excellent.
But she gets the Kim Gold Star for refusing point blank to release her tax returns:
“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.”
Good for her. I’ve never understood why tax returns are an election issue. If I were running for office, I’d refuse just as categorically to release my returns. (Once in office, of course, it’s a different story: voters have an absolute right to see how their elected representatives are being compensated, and how they manage their finances.)
And Cindy McCain is quite right: her husband is the elected politician, not her—and as they’ve kept their finances separate their entire married life (filing separately, prenuptial agreements, separate bank accounts and so on), I see no reason why it’s anyone’s business how much money she earns from her successful business.
(For the record, I opposed having Teresa Kerry reveal her tax returns, for precisely the same reasons.)
Needless to say, that slimy little shit Howard Dean seized the opportunity to throw dirt and innuendo:
“What is John McCain trying to hide?” Dean said in a statement. “Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House.”
Gah. I’d like to beat him over the head with a lead pipe.
Privacy: it’s your right. Despite what the Press and political hacks like Dean may think.
