Senator John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, has decided not to release her tax returns  not now and not in the future. In the interest of transparency and to support her husband’s frequent calls for clean and open government, she should rethink that decision.

Since their marriage in 1980, Mrs. McCain, the daughter of a multimillionaire Anheuser-Busch distributor, and her husband have filed separate tax returns. In April, Mr. McCain released his own returns, but just for the last two years  a paltry nod to openness. Mrs. McCain, it was explained, would not release her tax returns in “the interest of protecting the privacy of her children.”

Mrs. McCain dug in deeper this month, insisting that she will never make her returns public, even if her husband wins the presidency and she becomes first lady. “My husband is the candidate,” she said.

There is no question that Mr. McCain  the candidate  has reaped considerable benefits from his wife’s wealth, including discounted use of her company’s corporate jet to fly from state to state during this campaign.