Has the Bush family ever declared their assets?

Did John McCain declare his assets?

Has Bloomberg ever declared his assets?

Why the fuck is Caroline Kennedy's wealth an issue. What fucking conflict of interest is this?

M$Greedia, Fox New York Daily News and Rethugs - FUCK YOU!!

they are much more likely to declare others assets theirs'...

Tax returns, for instance, where your income is included--and since dividends and interest are income, we know what most of their assets are. Bush, Biden, Obama, etc., etc.--it's not always when you run (although the media expect it), but when you take office that it's either mandatory or nearly so to disclose it.

Strictly speaking, if you had $500k in stamps, three Stradivarius violins, and 20 lbs of emeralds in a closet, that wouldn't be reported unless they sold it for a gain (then the increase in value would be taxable), or for a loss and used that loss to offset income.

But IIRC, there was outrage that shortly before 11/4, Palin's tax records weren't yet released ... they came late. And outrage from Obama supporters that Hillary took so long to get some of her recent records out.

Some things not properly in the federal tax return come out, anyway. McCain's wife had what, 7 houses? Some of them weren't investments, but still that info was public. Many had a field day. We also knew what McCain's assets were (not much). We know that Biden's house is worth what, $3 million (?), with a huge debt. Tax records showed that Palin's house wasn't cheap either, but some of that might have been appreciation.

Nobody was distraught and said that McCain's assets weren't an issue. They defended Biden's house while saying Palin's was overpriced. We talked about the value of Obama's house, and of those that McCain lives in. The usual rule of thumb is that the opposition's assets are fair game--as is their bloopers, blunders, background, relatives, etc., etc.--but our folk's assets are off limits (as are their bloopers, blunders, background, relatives, etc., etc.). Some are even-handed.

IIRC, McCain's lifestyle meant he couldn't possibly understand the lot of a commoner. Palin, from the hinterland, couldn't represent city-folk or east coasters. Something about being from the wrong class. This, of course, is also a partisan divide--McCain and Kerry are similar in that regard, to be honest, poor men marrying rich wives and having sometimes very nice lifestyles that they got by marrying up. So sometimes, yes, assets are seen as a kind of inherent class-based conflict of interest. And sometimes they're a real conflict of interest, which is why liquid assets go into a blind trust. I don't actually care about Caroline Kennedy one way or another--not my Senator, Paterson's not going to appoint a republican--and so I don't know what the alleged conflict of interest would be. But it's politics, however distasteful that often is.

I'm not sure Bloomberg has to reveal his assets, or even his tax returns (when he was elected I lived in Rochester, NY, and didn't follow NYC politics, but local, national, and state politics); he's a city mayor, not a high ranking federal representative. But Hillary did and CK's after Hillary's seat, so she should now and will have to later. Now would be consistent with past practice, it helps to know what you'll be getting. Although, strictly speaking, she doesn't need to until she's appointed and installed.

I find the entire game annoying, but I usually vote for consistency.