Former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, a former Republican-party chairman, says Mitt Romney should release more of his financial records, including some of his pre-2010 tax returns.
“He ought to release his returns,” Barbour tells National Review Online. “Any time this campaign’s conversation is not about President Obama’s failed policies,” particularly his economic record, “then the [Romney] campaign isn’t talking about the right thing.”
Romney has released his 2010 tax return and an estimate of his 2011 return. But the clamor for more has increased, with recent calls for disclosure coming from both liberals and prominent conservatives.
“This is what the Obama people have been praying for,” Barbour says. “The news media has been playing right into their hand, chasing this around. You would think this is the only thing happening in the campaign, which is why Romney needs to put it behind him. It’s a distraction and he needs to get back to what matters.”