Regarding the Russian interference issue, I find myself agreeing with Barack Obama (as I usually do). I heard Obama say the other night, during a PBS interview, something like, "Elections are tricky, they're not always predictable. Did the Russian hacking have an effect? It probably did, but how much of an effect? I'm not sure we can know that."
What's more important, and here most of the intelligence agencies and many elected officials seem to agree, is the fact Russia is trying to interfere in U.S. domestic politics. The intelligence people I have heard interviewed all say the same thing. Russia and Putin are trying to destabilize U.S. democracy by sowing distrust in the minds of Americans towards our institutions and our leaders. That's a direct attack on our country.
The other problem is, the incoming president doesn't seem to understand any of this and, worse, doesn't seem to much care. He continues to compliment Russia and Putin. One of the intelligence people said, incredibly Trump praised Russia at the same press conference in which Trump compared his own U.S. intelligence agencies with Nazi Germany.
Putin is a brutal tyrant. The Soviets would have called him a criminal. He and his cronies looted billions of dollars from state industries when they were being privatized. Putin is complicit in false imprisonments and murders of Russian dissidents and just about anyone who opposes him. He has completely demolished the Russian democracy movement.
I read a profile about a very wealthy Russian businessman who opposed Putin on various policy issues and, ultimately, wound up serving a 10-year prison sentence. Does Putin orchestrate false imprisonment and murder? The Russian businessman said words to the effect, "Look, everyone in Russia knows what will happen if you cross this president. This is known to almost everyone in Russia; this is not something that requires debating to find the answer."
Does Trump not get it or does he not care? Is Trump all there? It seems like no one really knows. Buckle up folks!
