Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett should heed a call by Gov. Ed Rendell regarding the Bonusgate scandal that is gripping state government in these months leading up to the November election.

As reported by a Pittsburgh newspaper Wednesday, Rendell, while in the Steel City Tuesday to make some economic development announcements, urged Corbett to let voters know prior to the election whether Republicans will be charged in the Bonusgate scandal also. Up to now, only Democrats have held "center stage" in results of the attorney general's probe. Corbett is a Republican.

"I don't understand why after two years you only could make your decision on Democrats," Rendell was quoted as saying. "If there was chicanery by all of the caucuses, (the voters) have the right to know that before the election. . . .

"It appears to the average voter that the only misdeeds alleged are against the Democrats. I think the attorney general should make a decision on the other side of the aisle as well."

Since the scandal became public knowledge, there have been suggestions that some Republicans, like some Democrats, might face charges stemming from Bonusgate. But, despite the early references to Republicans, up to now the public disclosures and charges have been solidly centered on Democrats.

Indeed, intentionally withholding negative news about Republicans in an attempt to benefit the GOP on Nov. 4 would be another issue worthy of state residents' anger.

A Corbett spokesman said in the aftermath of Rendell's comments that it would be inappropriate to put a timeline on an investigation of the magnitude and importance of Bonusgate. On that he is correct.

But while the biggest bonuses and the most money spent appear to have originated in the House Democratic caucus, it is in Corbett's and the state government's best interests for the investigation to be looked upon as fair in terms of both political parties.

The longer Corbett remains silent about Republicans, the more grounds for people to be suspicious about the attorney general's full intentions in pursuing the probe.

The arrests represent a sordid chapter in the conduct of one party, but voters need to know as soon as possible whether Corbett has found sufficient evidence linking Republicans to the same kind of conduct.

The attorney general's office should be perceived as fair to all, not politically tainted.