Show me!

In the immortal words of Tom  Cruise in the movie Jerry Maguire------- "Show me the money" ! In the less immortal words of Sen.  Harry Reid to Mitt Romney, •Show me your tax returns!" to that, Mr. Romney responded on Fox News' Sean Hannity show, "Harry Reid had better put up or shut up! " whoa Nelly! What's going on here with this war of words? Who is Trumping whom here?
     When the Birthers kept shouting for Barack Obama's birth certificate, and he kept dodging release of the actual document, Sean Hannity and others of his ilk adopted the "Show me position" when it came to the question of whether Obama was really born in Hawaii . Ultimately, Obama caved, and released his birth certificate. End of story? Not completely. The doubting Thomases like Donald Trump remain, but to those among us who are still sane , after this already long dragged out campaign, that was proof enough.
     So back to taxes. If Mitt Romney would just release ten years of his tax returns like his father ( who was the first to do so) did, that would be the end of it. Claiming, as his spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom did that " He paid 100 per cent of any taxes owed" will just not cut it. What if there were no taxes owed? What if his losses exceeded his gains, aided by channeling money to offshore Cayman Island accounts, or putting the pea, albeit legally, under some other shell?What if he didn't owe anything for ten years? 100% of nothing is still nothing. Does it depend on what Romney's definition of is, is?
    Now, to his rescue rides John McCain, the former Republican Presidential candidate whose thorough vetting of Romney in 2008 (including reviewing of twelve years of his tax returns)  resulted in his not choosing Romney, told the Wall St. Journal  that Romney's returns were 100% legal. Oh, that should end it! Truth is, you can be 100% legal, and still pay no taxes for certain years. After all, that's why God made tax lawyers and tax loopholes. And as for McCain's thorough vetting of Vice Presidential candidate...there is a two word response ...Sarah Palin.


Some smart businessmen legally avoid paying taxes much of the time.
 They do so by taking advantage of legal loopholes in the tax code that require them only to pay what is legally due Uncle Sam, and not one penny more! Those guys are heralded in the business community for their money making genius. The fact is though, they just don't run for President. When you run for President, you should have nothing to hide. Just ask John Edwards or Gary Hart about that. If you do have something big to hide, somehow, it eventually comes out, temerity and hubris  not withstanding.
   So, sorry Mitt. I'm from Missouri. Show me! Nothing short of a real ease of your tax returns will end this debate, and if there is something to hide, you shouldn't be running for President in the first place. If there is truly nothing to hide, then just release the returns. It's that simple. Show me.