The New Manchurian Candidate

I wouldn't call the story that Russian interests hacked the US presidential election in an effort to get Donald Trump elected "news" or a "revelation" unless you weren't paying attention. If it was Russia's intent to undermine confidence in the US election then certainly they would've gone after both candidates. They didn't. They attacked Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump.

For whatever reason, the American people would prefer to believe Hillary Clinton is running a child sex ring out of the basement of a pizzaria than a real estate mogul is entangled with Russian oligarchs despite the lack of evidence in the case of the former and the well reported facts in the case of the latter.

It's hard not to think that we deserve everything we're about to get.

In "The Manchurian Candidate," a sleeper agent is activated to assassinate the President of the United States. Considering the fact this would simply activate the Constitutional order of succession, the manipulations of Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs are more insidious and far reaching. Putin had a President "killed" in taking down Hillary Clinton with his Troll Army and simultaneously put the next President in his pocket. While Putin and his Troll Army took down Clinton (with a big assist from FBI chief Jim Comey), he withheld their hacks of the RNC.

Why?

Leverage.

Or blackmail, if you prefer that term.

Is it so hard to believe Putin would use whatever he has on Trump or the RNC, Reince Priebus and other power players in the GOP to influence or dictate actions by Trump's White House? Is it so hard to believe Putin didn't hand pick Rex Tillerson, friend of Russia, for Secretary of State.

Hey, if it's good for Exxon, it's good for the USA, right?

Being the leader of the free world depends on a legitimacy that is earned through integrity and trust. We're about to inaugurate a President who lost the popular vote by 2.5 million votes, believes the Presidency is a part-time job with a tremendous, tremendous expense account and who may well be beholden to Vladimir Putin.

America is over. And we have no one to blame for it but ourselves.