opinion

Editorial: Hillary Clinton’s emails erode transparency claim

A thistle to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who claimed in March that she had turned over to the State Department all relevant work emails from her private server, and that she had never used her private account to exchange classified information. Last week, the State Department acknowledged that Clinton didn’t turn over at least 15 emails that are now the subject of controversy. It also said portions of 25 emails it was releasing are being kept confidential and “upgraded” to classified status. As a presidential candidate, Clinton is turning press avoidance into something of an art form, yet she once called herself “probably the most transparent person in public life.” It’s a claim that becomes less believable with each passing day.

A rose to the World Food Prize and Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh, its 2015 laureate. The winners of the “Nobel Prize for agriculture” may not be household names or immediately seem relevant to our lives filled with bounty and excess. But Americans would be smart to learn from Abed’s example. The former Shell Oil executive founded BRAC (formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), which has been credited with raising 150 million people out of poverty. BRAC is no charity that always has its hands out; it’s known for its entrepreneurial zeal and commercial enterprises that include a hotel, retail outlets and factories. Abed’s group also shows the power of using microfinance, small loans to rural women to help them buy chickens, seed and other tools to start businesses and improve their lives.

“We have always used an approach to development that puts power in the hands of the poor themselves, especially women and girls,” Abed told the World Food Prize. “Educated girls turn into empowered women, and as we have seen in my native Bangladesh and elsewhere, the empowerment of women leads to massive improvements in quality of life for everyone, especially the poor.”

A rose to David Maxwell, who said goodbye in June after finishing a 16-year career as president of Drake University. We’ve noted before his many accomplishments, including raising enrollment, increasing the endowment by more than $100 million, and helping Iowa’s largest private school complete a $200 million capital campaign early. But we’ll miss the Maxwells in other ways, including their civic involvement. Des Moines will be a little less dynamic without David, a Russian linguist and jazz guitarist, and his wife, Maddy, a former art director, who both served on multiple boards. Drake long had a stand-offish reputation, but Maxwell focused on increasing the university’s engagement in the cultural and commercial life of central Iowa. The Maxwells have moved into a home in Asheville, N.C. Meanwhile, we welcome Earl “Marty” Martin, Maxwell’s successor, who is expected to keep the momentum going.

A thistle to Rep. Steve King, who appears to have finally gone off the deep end. Most recently, he compared the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage to the court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery, noting “that turned into a civil war — 600,000 people killed to put an end to slavery — to sort that mess out.” King also suggested Congress could retaliate against the high court by cutting its funding. Will he also advocate increasing the court’s appropriation for ruling against the Obama administration’s attempt to limit power plant emissions of hazardous air pollutants?