The Romney campaign has already rejected the Obama campaign's offer. That didn't take long!

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After Mitt Romney's claim yesterday that he has always paid at least 13 percent in taxes, an interesting offer from the Obama campaign:



August 17, 2012 Matt Rhoades

585 Commercial Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Dear Matt: I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers, the more our campaign will demand that he provide. So I am prepared to provide assurances on just that point: if the Governor will release five years of returns, I commit in turn that we will not criticize him for not releasing more--neither in ads nor in other public communications or commentary for the rest of the campaign. This request for the release of five years, covering the complete returns for 2007-2012, is surely not unreasonable. Other Presidential candidates have released more, including the Governor's father who provided 12 years of returns. In the Governor's case, a five year release would appropriately span all the years that he has been a candidate for President. It would also help answer outstanding questions raised by the one return he has released to date, such as the range in the effective rates paid, the foreign accounts maintained, the foreign investments made, and the types of tax shelters used. To provide these five years, the Governor would have to release only three more sets of returns in addition to the 2010 return he has released and the 2011 return he has pledged to provide. And, I repeat, the Governor and his campaign can expect in return that we will refrain from questioning whether he has released enough or pressing for more. I look forward to your reply. Jim Messina

Obama for America Campaign Manager

I'm sure that this offer is in part aimed at getting a little deeper inside Mitt Romney's head, but purely on the substantive merits, it's actually quite generous. Not only is it less than half the number of years of tax returns that President Obama has released, it covers a time range during which Romney had hoped to be the Republican nominee for president if not the president himself. If he can't even meet this limited standard, then he shouldn't have run for president in the first place.