…except for Mitt Romney (r).

Paul Ryan (r), with Bob Schieffer on 60 Minutes tonight:

Bob Schieffer: How many years of, uh, tax returns did you, uh, turn over to [crosstalk] the campaign?

Paul Ryan: Well, it, it was a very exhaustive, uh, uh, vetting process. It’s a confidential bri vetting process, so there were several years, but…

Previously:

The question (August 11, 2012)

Tax Returns: maybe he just handed them everything in a shoe box (August 12, 2012)

Previously: The question (August 11, 2012)

“Representative Ryan, how many years of tax returns did you provide to the Romney campaign in the vetting process?”

Today George Stephanopoulos asked Tim Pawlenty (r) the same question:

Former Governor Tim Pawlenty (r): …on behalf of our country.

George Stephanopoulos: You did bring up the tax returns. How many years of tax returns did you provide to the Romney campaign?

Tim Pawlenty (r): [pause] Well, I don’t know the exact number, George, but I, you know, there were several years I believe.

George Stephanopoulos: Several years, so more than two?

Tim Pawlenty (r): [pause] Well, we don’t get into the details [laugh] of the vetting process, but I, I gave ’em a bunch of tax returns. I don’t remember the exact number of years.

George Stephanopoulos: Governor Pawlenty, thanks…

“…Well, I don’t know the exact number…”

“…I, I gave ’em a bunch of tax returns. I don’t remember the exact number of years…”

Seriously? You’re being considered as the vice presidential nominee for your party and this is one of those minor details that slips your mind? Tim Pawlenty must think everyone in America is stupid.  

Narration: In two thousand and eight Mitt Romney gave John McCain over twenty years of tax records. After reviewing the records the McCain campaign decided Romney wasn’t right for the vice presidency. We don’t know what’s in those records. But something made John McCain think that this woman was more qualified.

Simple republican math:

“We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”

Leona Helmsley

…plus…

“Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges.”

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

…equals:

WASHINGTON – Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns public even if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady.

“You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate,” Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain, said in an interview aired on NBC’s “Today” on Thursday.

Asked if she would release her tax returns if she was first lady, Cindy McCain said: “No.”

Cindy McCain says she’ll never release her tax returns [emphasis added]

Au contraire. If you want to live in public housing it becomes the public’s business. The little people are funny that way.

From the Huffington Post:

During the 2004 election, Republicans criticized Theresa Heinz Kerry for not disclosing her personal tax returns (she eventually released a copy of her 1040). RNC Chairman Ed Gillepsie claimed then:

   “Throughout history, presidential candidates have disclosed income tax information prior to Election Day. We believe Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns. During the 2003 filing year, Sen. Kerry made a $6 million loan to his campaign based on the value of a home jointly owned with his wife.”

Well, Ed? [sound of crickets]

From the New York Times (via MyDD):

…over a seven-month period beginning last summer, Mr. McCain’s cash-short campaign gave itself an advantage by using a corporate jet owned by a company headed by his wife, Cindy McCain, according to public records. For five of those months, the plane was used almost exclusively for campaign-related purposes, those records show.

Mr. McCain’s campaign paid a total of $241,149 for the use of that plane from last August through February, records show. That amount is approximately the cost of chartering a similar jet for a month or two, according to industry estimates.

The senator was able to fly so inexpensively because the law specifically exempts aircraft owned by a candidate or his family or by a privately held company they control. The Federal Election Commission adopted rules in December to close the loophole – rules that would have required substantial payments by candidates using family-owned planes – but the agency soon lost the requisite number of commissioners needed to complete the rule making.

Because that exemption remains, Mr. McCain’s campaign was able to use his wife’s corporate plane like a charter jet while paying first-class rates, several campaign finance experts said…

We have a little saying around here: If you’ve liked the last 8 years, you’re gonna love the next 100…