Sharing Secrets

Today, following John Kerry's release of his military records, the New York Times complains that the Kerry's should be more forthcoming with other information, such as additional medical records or details of Teresa's finances.

With all due respect for the importance of knowing a presidential candidate's medical history, and certain details of his finances, this seems to be an unbalanced demand. On the more personal front, there is no call for Bush to disclose his personal financial background, including the details of the questionable business dealings which have inspired some to accuse him of insider trading. There is no call for him to disclose why he skipped his annual physical in his last year of reserve duty. On matters which affect all of us, there is no call for disclosure of the identity of participants in Dick Cheney's energy task force. There is no call for disclosure of additional documents and records pertaining to 9/11, when the Bush Administration started to plan for war in Iraq, or even for an explanation of its diversion of $700 million from Afghan reconstruction to pay for Iraq warplanning. There's no call for Cheney to disclose the present status of his heart condition, or for an update on President Bush's peculiar fainting spell.

I'm all for disclosure, but I'm not sure that Kerry's the one with the bigger secrets. When can I expect The Times to present a similarly unambiguous demand for disclosure by the other side?

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