Birthers harassed President Obama about his birth certificate for 3 freakin' years

[Proud Liberal Dem]

before he finally broke down and gave them what they wanted- something NO OTHER candidate and/or sitting President of the United States of America has EVER had to do, particularly AFTER the fact, so I'm just not clear why hounding Mitt Romney, a candidate for President, about his tax returns (that Romney seems to imply has some damaging- or at least easy to exploit- information) is so out of bounds now for the right. I'm not holding my breath that he'll actually ever give them up but his refusal to do so, along with his apparent tendency to destroy, hide, and otherwise obfuscate his personal and political "paper trail," does raise serious questions IMHO about how open and honest his administration would be should he (somehow) get elected to the highest office in the land.

[struggle4progress]

1. don't compare the tax return expectation to the birther nonsense

it's been a reasonable public expectation for decades that candidates let us see these returns

the birth certificate stuff OTOH is just crazy

[emilyg]

2. McCain released 2 years. That's all.

[struggle4progress]

3. (1) don't confuse low info voters by comparing tax returns to birth certificates

just don't

(2) Romney's father released a dozen years of returns when he ran. Bob Dole released 30 years of returns when he ran. Everybody in about the last thirty years has released more than Romney and McCain

[Xyzse]

7. Agreed

However, McCain ran on the platform of his Senate and Veteran experience.
Method of checking on them would be through his voting record and so forth.

Romney is running on his business.
Method of checking would be tax record then.

Actually, what the hell is Romney campaigning on?
That he's a Rich White Guy and he is not Barack Obama.

[Wounded Bear]

8. And as a Senator...

McCain filed periodic income and earnings statements, just like Kerry, who also didn't provide many years of returns. Their finances were/are matters of public record. W Mitt has no such public record.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. I'm not necessarily comparing (in that they are equivalent in any way)

Last edited Fri Aug 3, 2012, 10:17 AM - Edit history (1)

just pointing out that Romney and Republicans are acting all indignant about the tax returns issue when their "base" has been going after President Obama for his birth certificate and, as of late (in response to the tax issue), his school transcripts and other "sealed" records that they believe (or fervently hope) may have *incriminating* information.

[toddwv]

4. 3 years?

Longer than that. They started before he was elected.

"He can end this by showing us the BC."

So he did.

"No, we need the long-form!"

So he did.

"Well, we also need all his school transcripts and everything he wrote in Harvard!"

I say follow the birther template. They've been honing it for quite some time now.

[neeksgeek]

6. Mitt, if you can't take the heat...

Get out of the kitchen.