I hope he doesn't

Reader comment on: Romney's Tax Returns

Submitted by ben (United States), Jul 19, 2012 21:04

I hope he doesn't release them because I want him to lose. Not releasing them is idiotic. For better or worse, the expectation has been set that Presidential candidates release more of their financial history than those running for other offices. This is a good thing. The people deserve to know what Romney/Obama do with their money. I must admit I was disappointed to find out how little Biden gave to charity.

Your analysis of the reasons he should release his records are off I think. Politically, the only way this doesn't continue to pop up as an issue throughout the race is by putting them out there. Otherwise every blogger will dream of what they might contain (just today I saw speculation that he was one of the people illegally sheltering money in a UBS bank account that got amnesty a few years back). Reporters will work tirelessly to try to suss out what could be so bad that he won't give up the information. In other words, a week of pain now is well worth being able to say to Obama that he released his returns and lets move on.

I do agree the people should not give in to editorial writers all the time, but those calling on him to release his returns extend far beyond editorial writers and bloggers. Half the Republican Party has asked him to release the returns (Perry, Paul, Barbour - even Brit Hume!). I agree that a politician who caves under pressure only invites more pressure, which is why he should have released them weeks ago. But I don't think the pressure will disappear. This will be the story that keeps on giving. It will die down and crop up again when it is convenient for Obama to bring it up.

Finally, the last point is a little disappointing for you to make. I didn't think you were in the black helicopter crowd with Obama's transcripts. The man put out his long form birth certificate and half of Republicans still think he was born somewhere else. Now they ask for his college records. Who cares, what a joke. Obama released his taxes, so should Romney.

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Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
⇒ I hope he doesn't [363 words]benJul 19, 2012 21:04
I agree - no returns [164 words]BillJul 19, 2012 18:35
Where are the tax returns? [13 words]MichaelJul 19, 2012 11:03

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