Tax returns, Biden seen as minor issues

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A pair of U.S. governors predicted this week's flaps over Mitt Romney's tax returns and a crack made by Vice President Joe Biden would not catch on with voters.

While political operatives and pundits may swoon, the average voter won't have the patience or desire to make either issue a major one, the governors predicted on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"This issue is not about Mitt Romney's tax returns," declared Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia. "That's not what Americans care about. They care about their own tax returns and the whopping increases in taxes and regulations that this administration has put on the American people."

Maryland's Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley had similar sentiments about Biden's statements to an audience that the Romney camp was scheming to "put you all back in chains."

"There's not a racist bone in Joe Biden's body," O'Malley said. "I'll tell you the injection of race into this campaign has been coming from the false allegations."