The most disconcerting thing about all of this

[PJMcK]

1. Russia's plot

You make some excellent points, justiceischeap, and I agree with you. Throughout the day-to-day dramas of the Trump White House, I've thought often about the reasons Russia would meddle in our elections. I've come to two conclusions.

First, Putin's objective is to weaken democracies by undermining citizens' faith in their elected officials. Applied across the western nations, this goal will weaken our alliances and individual countries. Since so many of our politicians are already financially compromised from their fund-raising activities and other selfish reasons, they are easy targets for disinformation and dissent. By using social media and bots targeting websites, Russia was able to sow discontent and foment anger. Their additional use of false "news" powered by the internet's openness to conspiracy theories added more disrespect in the populace. All of this fueled many voters in the US last November.

My second observation is that Trump was an accident. I believe that the Russians expected Secretary Clinton to win and all they were hoping for was to weaken her right out of the gate. If they could create enough questions about her legitimacy, it would sap her political capital. The Russians must have been thrilled when they saw that Trump had won! Since they already have his number, they knew that they could easily manipulate Trump.

So, Putin's plot is working out very well.