Honey, Throw a Few More Twenties on the Fire

So John McCain's taxable income, over the last two years, was disclosed to be $474,104.

The Democratic candidates, Barack Obama (along with his wife Michelle, $5.1 million) and Hillary Clinton (along with Bill, $35 million) also reported theirs. How do John and Cindy squeak by on his paltry earnings? Well, he also gets his Navy pension, which is untaxable (another $114,000). And John also collects Social Security (he is old enough, and it enables him to have a little pin money).

Cindy happens to make so much money that she could probably tell the Treasury what presidents to put on it. She pretty much has the beer distribution market sewn up in a state full of thirsty, golf-playing white guys with nice beer bellies, and where beer and alcohol consumption rank right up there with cleaning and owning guns as entitlements of the conservative class. She owns real estate and part of the Diamondbacks baseball team. Real estate is a little soft right now, so she may be hurting for bucks just a bit.

I hope the McCains can manage to squeak by. But Cindy should go ahead and release the info. Those smug, well-fed know-it-alls of the conservative media made Theresa Kerry release her info (before those swift boat rummies made up all that crap about John) ; it's only fair that Mrs. M does the same. I'm guessing there isn't enough room for all the zeroes on the conventional tax forms.

Certainly John has worked hard for his money and suffered for his Navy pension. But maybe he ought to kick the Social Security money back into the system his party soulmate, Dubya, has bumblasted for the last nearly eight years.

It borders on the nearly hysterical that McCain claims to be more in touch with the common people than the Democratic candidates. If he is, then God help us all.