Double Standard for Candidate Spouses
Will Post and Journal Call for Release of Cindy McCain's Taxes as They Did with Teresa Heinz Kerry?
Media Matters Calls on Publications to Explain Lack of Consistency
Washington, D.C. - During coverage of the 2004 election cycle, both The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal published editorials calling on Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, to release her tax returns. To date, neither publication has called on Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive 2008 Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, to do the same. Today, Media Matters for America released letters sent to the editorial boards of both papers calling on the publications to explain their lack of consistency.
Excerpts from the letter to The Washington Post:
"On May 4, 2004, The Washington Post printed an editorial headlined 'Teresa Heinz Kerry's Taxes.' In this editorial, the Post called for Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to 'make her tax returns public' in the interest of transparency. From the beginning of this year to the date of this letter, the Post editorial board has not made the same request for the release of Cindy McCain's tax returns or even noted that Sen. John McCain's campaign has refused to release such documents."
[...]
"Given the significantly limited information released by the McCain campaign, why has the Post failed to call for Cindy McCain to make her full returns public, as it did with Heinz Kerry? In 2004, the Post lamented that the information released by Heinz Kerry was "short of what ought to be done." But when it comes to Cindy McCain -- who has released even less information than Heinz Kerry -- the Post has chosen to remain silent."
"We call on you today to explain your lack of consistency on this important issue or risk tarnishing your journalistic credibility and integrity not just with your readers but with the broader American public as well."
Excerpts from the letter to The Wall Street Journal:
"On July 1, 2004, The Wall Street Journal printed an editorial headlined 'Kerry and Disclosure,' which called for Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to 'release her full filings with the IRS' in order to be 'as transparent as possible with the American public.' From the beginning of this year to the date of this letter, the Journal editorial board has not made the same request for the release of Cindy McCain's tax returns or even noted that Sen. John McCain's campaign has refused to release such documents."
[...]
"Given the significantly limited information released by the McCain campaign, why has the Journal failed to call for Cindy McCain to make her full returns public, as it did with Heinz Kerry? As the Journal stated in 2004, 'Choosing to lead a public life means accepting the need for financial transparency.' Are we to assume by the Journal's omission that the McCains are excused from that same obligation?"
"We call on you today to explain your lack of consistency on this important issue or risk tarnishing your journalistic credibility and integrity not just with your readers but with the broader American public as well."
Full text of letter to The Washington Post:
May 7, 2008
Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor
The Washington Post
1150 15th St. NW
Washington, DC 20071Dear Mr. Hiatt,
On May 4, 2004, The Washington Post printed an editorial headlined "Teresa Heinz Kerry's Taxes." In this editorial, the Post called for Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to "make her tax returns public" in the interest of transparency. From the beginning of this year to the date of this letter, the Post editorial board has not made the same request for the release of Cindy McCain's tax returns or even noted that Sen. John McCain's campaign has refused to release such documents. The Post's silence on this issue is notable, since Cindy McCain's personal fortune has reportedly played a role in her husband's political career and current campaign for president.
This is a particularly relevant question, given that it was Cindy McCain's wealth and connections in Arizona politics that made her husband's entry into politics possible in the first place. Moreover, an April 27 New York Times article by Barry Meier and Margot Williams reported on the McCain campaign's repeated use of a corporate jet owned by Hensley & Co., the beer distributorship started by Cindy McCain's late father that she now controls. The Times reported that "several" campaign finance experts stated that these actions, "while keeping with the letter of law, did not reflect its spirit."
Although some have echoed the McCain campaign's justification for refusing to release Cindy McCain's tax returns by citing Heinz Kerry as "precedent," this ignores a key distinction in the information released by the McCain and Kerry campaigns. The documents released by Heinz Kerry revealed her total income, while those released by Cindy McCain do not.
While Heinz Kerry did not provide her full tax returns, she did release what an October 16, 2004, New York Times article described as a "small part of her 2003 income tax return": a "two-page document" showing "total income of $5,073,554 last year." The Post welcomed the disclosure but stated that "we hope she'll see the wisdom, and the benefit, of doing more." In contrast to the Kerry campaign, the McCain campaign has released only the "Wages and Salaries" that Cindy McCain received in 2006 and 2007 as chair of Hensley & Co., Cindy and John McCain's share of interest income from a bank account, and their shares of income from John McCain's book royalties; it did not reveal any capital gains income from that period. Unlike Cindy McCain, the information Heinz Kerry released 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.
Given the significantly limited information released by the McCain campaign, why has the Post failed to call for Cindy McCain to make her full returns public, as it did with Heinz Kerry? In 2004, the Post lamented that the information released by Heinz Kerry was "short of what ought to be done." But when it comes to Cindy McCain -- who has released even less information than Heinz Kerry -- the Post has chosen to remain silent.
We call on you today to explain your lack of consistency on this important issue or risk tarnishing your journalistic credibility and integrity not just with your readers but with the broader American public as well.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Eric Burns
Chief of Staff
Media Matters for Americacc: Members of the Washington Post editorial board: Jackson Diehl, Jo-Ann Armao, Jonathan Capehart, Lee Hockstader, Charles Lane, Ruth Marcus, Eva Rodriguez
Full text of letter to The Wall Street Journal:
May 7, 2008
Paul A. Gigot, Editorial Page Editor
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10281Dear Mr. Gigot,
On July 1, 2004, The Wall Street Journal printed an editorial headlined "Kerry and Disclosure," which called for Sen. John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to "release her full filings with the IRS" in order to be "as transparent as possible with the American public." From the beginning of this year to the date of this letter, the Journal editorial board has not made the same request for the release of Cindy McCain's tax returns or even noted that Sen. John McCain's campaign has refused to release such documents. The Journal's silence on this is issue is notable, since Cindy McCain's personal fortune has reportedly played a role in her husband's political career and current campaign for president.
This is a particularly relevant question, given that it was Cindy McCain's wealth and connections in Arizona politics that made her husband's entry into politics possible in the first place. Moreover, an April 27 New York Times article by Barry Meier and Margot Williams reported on the McCain campaign's repeated use of a corporate jet owned by Hensley & Co., the beer distributorship started by Cindy McCain's late father that she now controls. The Times reported that "several" campaign finance experts stated that these actions, "while keeping with the letter of law, did not reflect its spirit."
Although some have echoed the McCain campaign's justification for refusing to release Cindy McCain's tax returns by citing Heinz Kerry as "precedent," this ignores a key distinction in the information released by the McCain and Kerry campaigns. The documents released by Heinz Kerry revealed her total income, while those released by Cindy McCain do not.
While Heinz Kerry did not provide her full tax returns, she did release what an October 16, 2004, New York Times article described as a "small part of her 2003 income tax return": a "two-page document" showing "total income of $5,073,554 last year." The Journal insisted that "with wealth comes responsibility" and urged the Kerrys' full disclosure to evaluate "any potential conflicts of interest" with regard to Kerry's proposed tax policies for the wealthy. In contrast to the Kerry campaign, the McCain campaign has released only the "Wages and Salaries" that Cindy McCain received in 2006 and 2007 as chair of Hensley & Co., Cindy and John McCain's share of interest income from a bank account, and their shares of income from John McCain's book royalties; it did not reveal any capital gains income from that period. Unlike Cindy McCain, the information Heinz Kerry released 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.
Given the significantly limited information released by the McCain campaign, why has the Journal failed to call for Cindy McCain to make her full returns public, as it did with Heinz Kerry? The Journal stated in 2004, "Choosing to lead a public life means accepting the need for financial transparency." Are we to assume by the Journal's omission that the McCains are excused from that same obligation?
We call on you today to explain your lack of consistency on this important issue or risk tarnishing your journalistic credibility and integrity not just with your readers but with the broader American public as well.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Eric Burns
Chief of Staff
Media Matters for Americacc: Deputy Editorial Page Editors Daniel Henninger and Melanie Kirkpatrick; members of the Wall Street Journal editorial board: Brian Carney, Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Stephen Moore, Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Dorothy Rabinowitz, Hugo Restall, Jason Riley, Nancy deWolf Smith, Bret Stephens, Kimberley A. Strassel
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This is an issue because of the double standard in the media. That double standard makes their readers more suspicious of liberals and does not cause the same questioning of the conservative candidate.
Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.
Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.