Time for full disclosure, Teresa

Teresa's free ride

The time has long past for Teresa Heinz Kerry to end the free ride she has been enjoying ever since she used her immense inherited wealth for the second time in less than eight years to resuscitate her husband's faltering political career. She needs to reveal the details of her finances, which Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has deftly exploited to his maximum political benefit — first during his tightly contested 1996 Senate race and then during this year's Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses.

In May, Mrs. Heinz Kerry accused Vice President Cheney of being "unpatriotic." This week she asserted that enthusiasts for Bush-Cheney "want four more years of hell." Fair enough. But if Mrs. Heinz Kerry insists on simultaneously playing the three roles of "sugar mommy," pit-bull and speechifying partisan environmentalist, then she ought to play by the same rules to which all the recent spouses of prospective presidents and vice presidents have adhered. Let the voters have access to her financial affairs, including her tax returns for 2002, the latest year for which she has filed.

C'mon Teresa! What do you have to hide?