When Mitt Romney was considered for John McCain's ticket in 2008, he turned over 23 years' worth of tax returns as part of the vetting process. In 2012, Romney has disclosed returns for one year, and assures us that one more is on the way eventually.
Why is he ignoring calls for more disclosure, even from his fellow Republicans? Romney won't say.
But when it comes to evaluating others, Romney and his team have a different standard. Beth Myers, who oversaw the vice-presidential search, conceded she'd obtained "several years" of income tax returns from those being considered. The subject also came up on "60 Minutes" last night. Tricia posted a fuller clip earlier, but this excerpt stood out.
Bob Schieffer, interviewing Romney and Paul Ryan together, asked the VP nominee how many years of tax returns he turned over to the campaign. The congressman said it was "a very exhaustive vetting process," and he shared materials going back "several years."
So, when American voters are evaluating a candidate, they're entitled to look at one or two years' worth of returns, but when Romney is evaluating a candidate, he's entitled to more. Hmm.
Also note, Ryan went on to say he would only share with the public returns for two years, even though he gave more to Team Romney, and by way of explanation, the Wisconsin Republican changed the subject.
I don't think this issue is going away anytime soon. Even Bill Kristol, who actively lobbied to add Ryan to the Republican ticket, has said, "It's crazy. You've got to release 6, 8, 10 years of back tax returns."