Candidates Say “You First” on Tax Returns

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman says she'll happily release 25 years of tax returns any day now.

But only if fellow gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Jerry Brown shows his first. And shows more -- Whitman's demanding 27 years of tax records dating back to when Brown was last governor.

And Whitman's Republican primary opponent, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, says he'll go public, too.

But only after Whitman does.

It all seems to be an elegant way to seem to be making a stand for transparency but never having to follow-through by making what seem like unrealistic demands part of the pledge.

And it nicely leaves the onus on Brown to get the ball rolling, leaving him open to accusations of lacking said transparency.

Jackson West is curious as to why 1983, and wonders if the Whitman campaign knows something about that year.