Pirate's Cove

The NY Times Editorial Board has finally chimed in on the State Department’s report on Hillary’s illegal email server, and finds her to be as secretive and lying as always, which is interesting, considering the same NY Times EB has been rather supportive of Hillary and dismissive of her detractors, regarding her email issues

(NY Times) Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the presidency just got harder with the release of the State Department inspector general’s finding that “significant security risks” were posed by her decision to use a private email server for personal and official business while she was secretary of state. Contrary to Mrs. Clinton’s claims that the department had “allowed” the arrangement, the inspector general also found that she had not sought or received approval to use the server.

So far, no security breaches have been reported; a separate F.B.I. investigation is looking into that. But above and beyond security questions, the inspector general’s report is certain to fuel doubts about Mrs. Clinton’s trustworthiness, lately measured as a significant problem for her in public polls.

Significant? I’d say so, as noted at the Washington Free Beacon

Voters most associate the words “liar,” “not trustworthy,” and “scandals” with Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, according to the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Kornacki also described how only 19 percent of voters believe Clinton is honest and straightforward, according to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Trump hits 35%. Oh, and the FBI investigation? They aren’t just looking into whether there were any breaches: they’re investigating whether laws were broken by Clinton and her cohorts, including the Espionage Act. Back to the Times

This defensive posture seems at play in the email controversy, as well as her refusal, for that matter, to release the lucrative speeches she made to Wall Street audiences. The reflex she is revealing again now — to hunker down when challenged — is likely to make her seem less personable to many voters, and it will surely inflame critics’ charges of an underlying arrogance.

Donald Trump, her Republican rival, will be merciless in swinging the inspector general’s report like a cudgel. Accordingly, Mrs. Clinton now faces a measurably greater challenge in proving that she is the well-qualified politician her supporters know her to be, based on her varied career as a senator, secretary of state and first lady deeply involved in public life. This is a challenge to be faced not with a contrived campaign makeover, but with a far greater investment of candor before the public.

Two points. First, don’t expect candor. A Zebra cannot change its stripes, and the comments of Hillary and her surrogates since the report was released show they are attempting to spin it away. Second, we’re still waiting to hear exactly what her accomplishments were.

Even now, it seems a stretch to say that Mrs. Clinton’s email mishaps should disqualify her for the White House, particularly considering the alternative of Mr. Trump with his manifold evasions — not least his refusal to release tax returns that could shed light on his claims to great wealth, his charitable contributions and other deductions and possible conflicts of interest.

They aren’t mishaps: they break the law. If you were a private citizen using an outside server in an attempt to keep your corporate email conversations separate from the company, you could easily be in civil and criminal trouble. It’s those pesky records keeping laws, and the government has them for the government, as well. Oh, plus all those criminal laws about protecting national security material, for which others have been prosecuted, and convicted, over much less. Trump hasn’t broken the law.

But the nation should not be judging leadership as a measure of who is less untrustworthy. Mrs. Clinton has to answer questions about the report thoroughly and candidly. That is her best path back to the larger task of campaigning for the presidency.

Interesting: we’re suddenly supposed to ignore trustworthy as a measure of leadership.

Crossed at Right Wing News.