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struggle4progress

(118,379 posts) Wed Nov 8, 2017, 03:10 PM Nov 2017

The art of the backfire

By RICHARD COHEN
Posted at 4:35 AM

When my son was little, I used to read to him from .. "The Stupids" ... about a family of incompetents who managed to screw up the simplest .. tasks. I no longer remember what they look like, so pardon me if I envision Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ...

The measure of Trump was taken recently by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly called his boss a “moron.” This assessment .. will go down as the signal .. achievement of Tillerson's .. Foggy Bottom ...

... consider Trump's .. determination to have the FBI investigate Hillary Clinton ... If Trump really intends the criminal prosecution of a political opponent, then he has more in common with Putin than a penchant for self-adoration ...

If we conclude — as we must — that Russia’s interference in last year’s election was authorized by the Kremlin and was intended to help Trump, then we must also conclude that it was just plain dumb ... They managed to plunge him into hot water from which he may never emerge ...

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/opinion/20171108/putin-and-trump-art-of-backfire/1

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The art of the backfire (Original Post) struggle4progress Nov 2017 OP

Two things PJMcK Nov 2017 #1

PJMcK

(22,069 posts)

1. Two things

Reply to struggle4progress (Original post)

Wed Nov 8, 2017, 03:25 PM

Nov 2017

First, the comedic line of the day is this: "They both are conspiracy buffs — Putin because he once toiled for the KGB, Trump because reality is too complicated for him." That's a great line!

Second, Mr. Cohen misses an essential element of the Russian interference. While he's correct that Putin wants U.S. sanctions lifted, there is another realpolitik reason Russian meddled in our election: it has caused division in our society and diminished American influence in the rest of the world. I'm not even certain Putin expected or cared whether Trump would win. Perhaps Russia meant to cause such chaos that a President Hillary Clinton would be so weakened at the outset of her administration that she wouldn't be able to accomplish much.

I do agree with him that Putin overplayed his hand resulting in his plot being exposed. Perhaps our governments will take concrete steps to protect our future elections.

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