Obama Releases Tax Returns, Demands Hillary Release Hers

From TalkingPointsMemo:

This is pretty funny. Hillary spokesperson Phil Singer blasted out an email at 11:23 insisting that Obama release his tax returns for back years,

Exactly two minutes later, at 11:25, Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor emailed out word that Obama had posted his tax returns for 2000-2006 on his campaign web site. Turns out the Obama camp has been planning this for some time.

You can view them here.

In pure political terms, this will obviously give more political potency to the Obama camp's efforts to make Hillary's failure to release her returns a key issue in the campaign. The Obama camp is now free to beat this drum between now and mid-April, when the Hillary camp has promised to release hers.

Indeed, the Obama campaign is already calling on Hillary to follow suit. “Senator Clinton can’t claim to be vetted until she allows the public the opportunity to see her finances," Obama spokesperson Robert Gibbs says, in a reference to the Hillary camp's frequent claim that Obama has not been thoroughly "vetted" in advance of the general election.

Overall, the tax returns themselves drop no major bombshells. I'm sure that people will try to spin it to fit into their narratives (FOX News contributor Michelle Malkin, for example, reports that "capitalism helped make them rich," mentions Rev. Wright a lot, and suggests that Michelle Obama is anti-capitalism or something), but it basically just paints a picture of a guy who didn't earn a lot at first (coming from a public service job and a gig teaching at the University of Chicago), and then saw a big increase in royalties from book sales as he exploded onto the national scene. The increased wealth came with increased charitable donations. Basically, it's nothing surprising.

I'd also like to say that the comments section at TPM has been particularly hilarious this election season.

UPDATE: Clinton's refusal to release her tax returns until three days before the Pennsylvania primaries is beyond ridiculous. M.S. Bellows suggests that you xerox your tax returns and send them to Hillary to show her how easy it is to do.