"Disclosure By the Kerrys"

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCLXIX

The perverts partisans politicians journalists at the New York Times complain about the Heinz Kerrys.

Senator John Kerry's two tours of combat duty in Vietnam should have prepared him well for the political firefight that is part of the daily slog in a presidential campaign. Yet his team seemed caught off guard in delivering on his promise of full disclosure of his war records. Detailed documents have finally been released, but only after the Bush campaign began questioning whether Mr. Kerry might somehow be hiding something in his war record. It should have been no surprise to Mr. Kerry that the Republicans took advantage of the news vacuum he created by withholding his records — not after President Bush's recent discomfort over questions about his own Vietnam-era service at home in the Texas Air National Guard.

Rapid and full disclosure, especially on this topic, should be a political no-brainer for Mr. Kerry. The documents released so far back up his campaign narrative depicting a war hero who was decorated three times for wounds and cited for "great personal courage under fire." But a presidential campaign is ever a learning experience tucked inside a cauldron. Mr. Kerry was slow to disclose his operation for prostate cancer, and he has still not fully released his medical records.

We hope the senator realizes that there cannot be too much disclosure by a candidate seeking the trust of the public for the nation's highest office.

With this high standard in mind, we urge that the candidate's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, release her tax returns. Limited financial records of Mrs. Heinz Kerry, a millionaire heiress, are available as part of the Senate's disclosure requirements. Beyond that, Mrs. Heinz Kerry points out that she is not the candidate and deserves some privacy.

But, again, the path to the presidency can be rooted only in winning the public's trust; numerous past candidates have acknowledged that extra burdens are fairly placed on close family members. Geraldine Ferraro learned that the hard way 20 years ago. The Mondale-Ferraro ticket was bogged down for a month of controversy before Ms. Ferraro finally prodded her husband, John Zaccaro, to release his tax records.

Beyond that precedent, Mrs. Heinz Kerry's personal fortune has already come into political play. The senator took out a $6 million loan on one of their houses to help finance his campaign. They may file separate tax returns, but the comfort of the Kerrys' assets is a fact of life in the senator's campaign. The public is entitled to more detail, even though nothing nefarious has been alleged.

One of the few sources of comfort for voters in this endless presidential campaign is that there is time to learn what they need to know about the candidates before the conventions in late summer. As the newcomer to the national election stage, Mr. Kerry has more to tell, and more to lose by not doing so early enough that any questions can be asked and answered before his nomination. Why delight critics, and irritate supporters, with a bout of stonewalling that's hardly worth the fight?

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How sweet. More helpful advice from one branch (mainstream media) of the Democratic Establishment to another branch (the political party).

It'll probably work, too. One does have the feeling that the editors at the New York Times might have more influence over Teresa Heinz Kerry than John Heinz Forbes Kerry does.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Fri. 04/23/04 07:16:42 PM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode & John Kerry & Media.