What can you learn....

....from a candidate's tax returns? Well, plenty, really. Let's take a walk through typical tax forms and see what they can tell us about a man.

Look at the 1040 form, and see if he's got any interest, capital gains, or dividend income. Look at the schedules for those as well. If they've had great income for decades, but not a lot of interest, dividend, and capital gains income, you can infer that they might not be very good at handling money. Do you want to put such a person in charge of a three trillion dollar budget? Not I.

Look at Schedule A. Do they itemize? Do they therefore have before them the impact of the taxes they create and modify? Do they have charitable giving? What does it say when someone supports government charity, but supports no private charities with his own money? Doesn't he suggest that he's not confident enough in his own ideas to support them with his own resources?

Look further at the mortgage & investment interest columns. Is the candidate paying more, or less, interest each year? If you've got increasing mortgage interest every year since 2002, you have your hint that they're using their home as a piggy bank--and again, their financial acumen is suspect.

As many pastors will tell you, if you want a good look into a man's heart, take a look at his checkbook and his daytimer. It's not for no reason that the Bible talks a LOT about how a man handles money, and if you can't look at his checkbook and credit card receipts, tax forms are the next best thing.