If Arizona Sen. John McCain calls the White House home next year, his life will become even more public than it is today.

But one thing that will remain secret is his wife's tax return. Mrs. Cindy McCain has declined to release her income tax return, filed separately from Sen. McCain's.

"You know, my husband and I have been married for 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate," she told a television network news audience this week.

Mrs. McCain, heiress to a Phoenix beer distributorship, is reportedly a multi-millionaire many times over. We're comfortable with such an arrangement. When John Kerry ran for president in 2004, Teresa Heinz-Kerry's personal income tax return was not made public. Like Mrs. McCain, she has a substantial personal net worth.