Media Matters for America: Wash. Post, WSJ editorial pages urged release of tax returns by Teresa Heinz Kerry, but have yet to call for Cindy McCain's
During the 2004 presidential campaign, the editorial pages of The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal called on Sen. John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to release her tax returns, with The Wall Street Journal citing the role Heinz Kerry's wealth purportedly played in her husband's presidential campaign. But according to a Media Matters for America search of editorials since January 1, the Post and Journal have yet to call for the release of Cindy McCain's tax returns, despite the role her personal fortune has reportedly played in the presidential campaign of her husband, Sen. John McCain.
Additionally, while The Washington Times called on Cindy McCain to release her tax returns in March, it has not revisited the subject since the McCain campaign made clear that she would not do so....
In an April 27 New York Times article, Barry Meier and Margot Williams reported that McCain's campaign used a corporate jet owned by his wife's company, Hensley & Co., "over a seven-month period beginning last summer" and that "for five of those months, the plane was used almost exclusively for campaign-related purposes."...
On April 18, the McCain campaign released John McCain's 2006 and 2007 income tax returns, but not Cindy McCain's separate returns. As part of John McCain's tax returns, the campaign released the "Wages and Salaries" that Cindy McCain received in 2006 and 2007 as chair of Hensley & Co., the McCains' share of interest income from a bank account, and their shares of income from John McCain's book royalties. But the information did not reveal the capital gains income, if any, for Cindy McCain from that period. The campaign stated: "In the interest of protecting the privacy of her children, Mrs. McCain will not be releasing her personal tax returns." The New York Times reported that "Mrs. McCain, who has a significant stake in a beer distributorship in Phoenix that her late father helped found, is far wealthier than her husband. The company is valued at $100 million or more, published estimates say."
Unlike Cindy McCain, Heinz Kerry did release what The New York Times reported on October 16, 2004, was a "two-page document" showing "total income of $5,073,554 last year" that enabled the Times to determine how much she had benefited from the Bush tax cuts, which John McCain supports extending permanently. An analysis of how the McCains have benefited from the tax cuts is not possible, based on the information his campaign has released on Cindy McCain's income.
In contrast with the Post and Journal, The New York Times asserted in a May 4 editorial that "there is no question that Mr. McCain benefits from his wife's money" and that "Mrs. McCain, the daughter of a multimillionaire Anheuser-Busch distributor, is not the candidate, but the need to gain public trust and to air potential conflicts of interest is vital."...
http://mediamatters.org/items/200805050001?f=h_latest 
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