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View Full Version : Cindy McCain says she'll never release her tax returns


AlonzoMourning23
05-13-2008, 03:54 AM
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."

The Arizona senator released his tax return last month, reporting he had a total income of $405,409 in 2007 and paid $84,460 in federal income taxes. He files his return separately from his wife, an heiress to a Phoenix-based beer distributing company whose fortune is in the $100 million range.

Sen. McCain is routinely is ranked among the richest lawmakers in Congress, but he and his wife have kept their finances separate throughout their marriage. A prenuptial agreement left much of the family's assets in Cindy McCain's name.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Cindy McCain's refusal to release her tax returns gives the appearance of a double standard on the part of her husband.

"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."

In response, Republican National Committee spokesman Danny Diaz said, "Howard Dean continues to lower the bar in this election."

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton filed joint tax returns with their spouses and publicly released those returns.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080508/ap_on_el_pr/cindy_mccain_taxes

Trish
05-13-2008, 02:40 PM
"Sen. McCain is routinely is ranked among the richest lawmakers in Congress, but he and his wife have kept their finances separate throughout their marriage. A prenuptial agreement left much of the family's assets in Cindy McCain's name."

I was pretty sure some legal arrangement was in place to keep their finances separate. With the kind of money Mrs. MCain inherited, I'm quite sure her financial advisers wouldn't have allowed their finances to be mixed - just in case there was a divorce. They wouldn't have taken a chance that any of HER money would get in HIS hands. Since keeping their finances separate has been the norm throughout their marriage and not simply since he became a candidate, I don't have a problem now with her not making public her income tax statements.

Truth_and_Power
05-13-2008, 02:42 PM
I'm sorry, this seems like a non-issue. It's not like she owns a defense subcontractor.

Deadshot
05-13-2008, 03:34 PM
Considering how much power a First Lady in the White House wields, as those who admire and hate Hillary Clinton have pointed out, I do not think this is a non-issue and will come up again and hurt her husbands candidicay IF she fights it.

Truth_and_Power
05-13-2008, 03:48 PM
Considering how much power a First Lady in the White House wields, as those who admire and hate Hillary Clinton have pointed out, I do not think this is a non-issue and will come up again and hurt her husbands candidicay IF she fights it.

You are afraid she will cause him to vote pro-beer?

Deadshot
05-13-2008, 03:53 PM
No, but I do realize how politics on the Right work.

So far McCain has claimed Obama is linked to Hamas, or asserted as much.
Last election a GOP group "Swift boated" Kerry, while Bush looked on.

I do not think it will happen again. The Dems have learned their lesson. People respond to innuendo and half-truths. As soon as the attacks on Michelle Obama pick up, and if you listen to Rush and O'Reilly they already have, an add will come out on McCain's wife.

We, Dems have learned are lesson. Fight fire with fire.

Tsky
05-13-2008, 03:55 PM
Considering how much power a First Lady in the White House wields, as those who admire and hate Hillary Clinton have pointed out, I do not think this is a non-issue and will come up again and hurt her husbands candidicay IF she fights it.

A prenup? Separate taxes? Sounds like another marriage of convenience to me.

See Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton for further info on marriages of convenience.