Mar. 20, Feature - The release of Hillary Clinton's schedule as First Lady shows that
on day one at the White House, she began meetings on health care, meeting with
people instrumental in the creation of her health care plan. Media reports
are reporting that her schedule suggests she was a proponent of, and instrumental
in, passing NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. Journalists and
opposing campaigns will be scrubbing through those for days to come. Yanmei
Xie takes a look at the candidates shadiness amidst calls for sunshine.
The National Archive released Hillary Clinton's schedule Wednesday. Obama's campaign
says that's far from enough. It's pressing Clinton to release more of the Presidential
Records, her earmark requests in the Senate and her taxes returns.
Obama has
released his tax information from last year. Clinton only made a vague promise
during an NBC debate last month with moderator Tim Russert.
Clinton:
I will
release my tax returns. I have consistently said that.
Russert:
Why not now?
Clinton:
Well, I will do it as others have done it upon
becoming the nominee or even earlier.
Not everyone of the "others" wait as long
as she does. The 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, for example, released
his tax records even before the primaries began. Clinton's chief strategist
Mark Penn insists that her records are out in the open.
"I think Senator Obama has only released a single year. She has released
twenty years of tax returns plus Senate disclosure forms."
The Clintons did release
tax returns for the years Bill Clinton was governor and the President.
But they haven't done so since leaving the White House.
Hillary Clinton has
promised to disclose all post-White House tax returns around April 15. Obama
has said he'll publish more. The presumptive Republican nominee John McCain
hasn't disclosed his tax returns, either. The two Democratic candidate are
two busy attacking each other for people to notice.
Then there's the question
about earmarks, which are funding requests lawmakers make for their home state
projects. Obama published all his earmark requests last year.
"I've actively
pursued projects that I think are important, but I want to make sure that
they are not done in the dark of the night."
Two of his earmarks came into question.
One is for the University of Chicago, where his wife used to work. The other
for a company that one of his big donors worked for. Clinton has also directed
money towards companies that hire her major fundraisers. So far she has refused
to fully disclose her earmark requests.
"I'm very proud of the earmarks I've
got for New York, because they have served worthy purposes for the people
that I represent."
McCain says he has no earmark to disclose.
"I have not asked for nor received
a pork-barrel project for my state, and I'm proud of that."
According to media
reports, however, McCain pushed for, and got, fourteen million for Arizona's
Luke Air Force Base in 2003. In 2006, he secured ten million dollars for the
University of Arizona to build an academic center.
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