Here’s a couple of things you might not know about me. I believe strongly in….

1. World peace.

2. That all politicians should release at least the last five years of their tax returns.

I hate war and nuclear weapons and I’m big on transparency in government and even bigger on fully vetting candidates, especially presidential candidates — regardless of party.

Those are my values and my principles. And in a perfect world, I would currently be standing side-by-side with the media and the Obama campaign demanding Romney release at least five years of his tax returns.

But I’m looking out my window right now and the rivers are not chocolate and the clouds are not cotton candy and the media is not objective and the President of the United States is not honest. In other words, it’s not perfect, and when the world’s not perfect — whether you’re talking world peace or Romney releasing his tax returns — unilateral disarmament is nothing more than suicide.

Right now the media and some Republicans are putting intense pressure on our nominee to release at least five years of his tax returns. Which is another way of demanding Mitt Romney hand six feet of oppo-research over to Team Obama.

And Romney’s being told he should do this even though a number of independent fact-checkers not usually sympathetic to Republican candidates have accused the Obama campaign of lying in most of their attacks on Romney.

And Romney’s being told he should do this even though the media is not making Obama pay a price for lying but is instead standing back in awe at how effective his shameless demagoguery is.

So we have an opposition campaign we know is willing to lie-lie-lie, and we have media referees whom we know are standing in awe of the other team’s fouls instead of taking points away — and this is the environment in which even some Republicans are demanding Romney hand over six feet of oppo-research?

That. Is. Insane.

Just for starters, after spending a month stating he would not release more than two years of tax returns, were Romney to buckle now, he would look weak. Secondly, no matter how clean his taxes are, the Obama campaign will drip-drip-drip lies straight through November and the media will let him.

That doesn’t mean I oppose the idea of Romney releasing five years worth of tax returns. My principles still stand. But my principles apply to both Republicans and Democrats .

Romney should go on offense and make a deal with Obama and the corrupt media:

I’ll give you three years of tax returns if Obama will release the names and addresses of the tens of thousands of undisclosed donors from the 2008 campaign who reportedly donated upwards of a couple hundred million dollars. There are alarming reports that a whole lot of that was foreign money. John McCain disclosed all the information on all his donors, Obama needs to do the same.

If you want another year, Barack Obama needs to rescind his executive order and release all documents related to Fast and Furious.

If you want yet another year, we need to see Barack Obama’s college transcripts.

One more year will cost Obama the information surrounding his whereabouts on July 4, 2005.

And on and on and quid and pro and quo.

Are we supposed to believe that who contributed to Obama’s campaign in 2008 is less important than tax returns the IRS has already gone over and found nothing wrong with or more important than the Fast and Furious documents and these college transcripts no one can find?

The media would have you think so, wouldn’t they? And we know this because the corrupt media refuses to make Obama pay a political price for his lack of transparency, even as they enter week four in beating Romney senseless over tax returns he’s already released to the IRS.

It’s a trap, and Romney knows it’s a trap, and he needs to stand strong. My suggestion would be that he use this tax debate to open up a debate about Obama’s lack of transparency — that he use the tax returns as LEVERAGE to finally vet this president.

It’s a no-lose proposition. While Obama digs through Romney’s taxes, Romney digs through Obama’s background.

And America wins because we have two EQUALLY vetted candidates to choose from.

Who could possibly be against that?

Only the corrupt media and a sitting president with something to hide and some Republicans who should know better.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC