Time To Come Clean

In the process of vetting Paul Ryan and other possible vice presidential running mates, Mitt Romney asked them to submit "several years" of their tax returns, according to former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who didn't make the cut.

That's something Romney refuses to do for those vetting him for President – the voters.

He has released only one year's returns and part of a second.  His father set the precedent by releasing 10 years of data.  There's a report around town that Romney's refusal to open up his returns is one of the reasons he was rejected as running mate four years ago by the McCain campaign. 

Romney claims he's following the "McCain precedent" of releasing only two years' of returns, but McCain's records are open and have been since he came to Congress nearly 30 years and filed mandatory disclosure documents. 

Even fellow Republicans are urging Romney to come clean, but so far he's holding firm.

Now that he's the chosen one, Ryan needs to make his returns public as well, and not just a year or two like Romney.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) accused Romney of paying no taxes for a decade, but he won't reveal his source.  He should put up or shut up. 

Harry Reid isn't Mitt Romney's big problem here; it's Mitt Romney.

It's time for Romney to come clean with the voters. 

Unless he's got something to hide. Something big.