A Shared Resistance to Transparency

"We ask a lot of candidates that normal people wouldn't do," Thorndike told me. "I'm sure it will be inconvenient while he's under audit, and his lawyers are probably aghast at the prospect of that, but I don't think that's really relevant in this situation." Indeed, would President Trump resist releasing tax returns because he was being audited?

This information matters. "You don't learn anything about somebody's wealth with a tax return," Trump claimed at the debate, but size isn't the only relevant factor here. Tax filings allow voters to know what effective tax rates candidates pay, and how aggressively they have used loopholes in the code. They provide details on how much candidates have donated to charity, and to what organizations. This information might not be dispositive to choosing a candidate, but it is instructive.

Clinton's speeches are different in that we don't know what's there or not, which is precisely the point. Clinton's stance has evolved from ducking ("I will look into it") to brushing off ("happy to do it when everybody, including the Republicans, does it").

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Clinton is running in a Democratic primary, against a candidate who has made her ties to Wall Street bankers an issue. Clinton argues that what she said in private doesn't matter because "I have a record. I'm not coming to this for the first time."

This has things backward. Yes, Clinton has a public record. But for voters worried about whether she would be tough enough on bankers, it seems reasonable for them to wonder: What did she say to them behind closed doors, at $225,000 a pop?

Most important, transparency is not, or shouldn't be, situational. Clinton has made tax returns public without Trump having released his. Why should it matter what Republican candidates do? Either it's reasonable to ask for disclosure or it isn't.

Voters beware. How politicians behave on the campaign trail offers a window into what they will do in office. Candidates lacking in transparency before Election Day aren't inclined to improve once they win.

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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.