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Here's my view of the charitable giving. Could he have given more? Almost certainly. Should he have given more? Probably, especially since he knew he would be pursuing a political career.
But I don't view it as a really bad thing that he didn't. Until his first book was published and made a fair chunk of change they'd never had a lot of money. They both had extensive college debt, and when the money started coming in they had a 2-year-old and a child on the way.
Plus, the source of money was not remotely guaranteed. The vast majority of their income in those years was from a book deal and royalties. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't return to the money they were making just a few years ago. Plus he's going to run for office which has a decent paycheck if he wins but a not so good one if he loses.
What does this add up to, for me? Being pretty darn conservative with his money. Paying off debts. Establishing a better household. Putting a lot away for retirement and the future education of your children. Just generally acting as if the gravy train could come to an immediate stop at any moment.
And as his income has become more secured he has increased the charitable giving. This can certainly be read simply as political expediency and I'm sure that is a not inconsiderable part of it. But also, it is the political future that also brought in the money so there is a certain amount of a chicken and egg thing going there.
But then, if I ever run for high office I will be screwed. Because we never claim our charitable donations for tax purposes, figuring it is nobody else's business.
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