I’ve always been troubled by the notion that a president or potential president is expected to release his or her tax returns and lots of other personal financial data to the public. For that matter, I’m troubled by the amount of information made available to the public through ethics disclosure forms. That’s why I’m in complete disagreement with this NY Times editorial.

As the presidential campaign narrows and its costs skyrocket, detailed disclosure of financial resources becomes ever more important. Of the leading contenders, so far, only Senator Barack Obama has released his full income-tax returns — a level of disclosure once routine for candidates after the political corruption of Watergate.

Release of the tax returns should not be made conditional on winning the nomination, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it. Both Senator John McCain, the Republican front-runner, and she owe it to their parties and to voters to promptly make available their Internal Revenue Service filings, and to respond to any questions about them. It is true that as senators, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain are required to file financial disclosure forms. But those forms present only general parameters of family financial resources, not the detail available on tax returns.

I fundamentally disagree. John McCain and Hillary Clinton don’t owe ANYONE the information available on their income tax returns. Indeed, it would be healthy for America for them to flat-out REFUSE to release their tax information even after they are nominated. And while I have questions about the business dealings of Bill Clinton, I respect his privacy enough to recognize that the American people are not entitled to the details of his speaking fees and other financial dealings just because his wife is running for the office he once held. For that matter, we don’t need to know the detailed medical information related to post-cardiac care for Mr. Clinton following his heart problems or any medical conditions for which the younger McCain children may be receiving treatment – information that might well be a part of the two families’ tax returns.

Speaking personally, I’m often curious about the business dealings of certain commentators, certain reporters and members of certain editorial boards. Their slant on the news is of great public import – and yet we never get a glimpse into the nitty-gritty details of, for example, the finances of Keith Olbermann. What about the public’s right to know?

When down to it, this isn’t a matter of the public’s right to know. Rather, it is a matter of the right to privacy of American citizens – which, let us recall, is the highest title that will ever be held by either of these two senators or their fellow candidate, Senator Obama.