Classic 1990s Clinton move: Release information late on a Friday so no one cares by Monday. But with the amount of information contained in the just released Clinton tax returns that journalists and Clinton critics are now going through, the theory may not work.. While there don't seem to be bombshells or scandalous financial irregularities, the tax returns show that the Clintons are really, really rich. In the past eight years, the Clintons at a couple earned about $109 million dollars. The New York TIMES reporting additional information about charitable deductions:

"During that time, the Clintons paid $33.8 million in federal taxes and claimed deductions for $10.2 million in charitable contributions. The contributions went to a family foundation run by the Clintons that has given away only about half of the money they put into it, and most of that was last year, after Mrs. Clinton declared her candidacy." xxx The pace of the Clintons’ own charitable giving, which peaked last year at $3 million, has not always kept up with their income, and by at least one measure, has sometimes fallen short of the spirit of the 5 percent goal, which is to get money into the hands of charities that do good works. In 2002, for instance, they reported income totaling $9.5 million and $115,000 in gifts to charity. In other years, they have given much larger amounts to their family foundation, but it has yet to disburse all of the money. The Clintons took a tax deduction in 2004 for $2.5 million in charitable gifts, $2 million of which went to their family foundation, which as a tax-exempt nonprofit is considered a charity under the tax code. That same year, the foundation gave away just $221,000 to charitable groups, according to its tax return."

Reading the reactions to the Clinton return release, I can only thank God that I am not in politics. The fact of little to no privacy in your entire monetary and personal history is a little creepy to me. While I understand the importance of the tax return filings as a showcase of a candidate, I think perhaps it can sometimes go too far in prying into history. What I do, however, find fascinating is the rags to riches story the Clintons have.. It's a fine showcase of the new form of classism that exists in America: Rich and poor. Obama, Clinton, and McCain are all pretty wealthy, while most of the people in America really aren't.. But all three wealthy candidates of the upper class tell the middle and lower Americans they feel the pain of the poor. The election, especially with ongoing economic downturn in America, will be about which wealthy candidate America can believe in. The millionaires club versus the paycheck to paycheck generation. Savings versus cravings. Lobster versus canned tuna. Once again I thank my lucky stars I'm not in the sleaziest game in history. One last point that I thought was amazing: The Clinton returns went early to Drudge before the release at 4pm. It gave Drudge a few hours to view them before anyone else. When will someone in the MSM realize Drudge is the most powerful journalist of the 21st century?

PHOTO: Gary Hershorn/Reuters