The Russians weren't that good; the Obama administration was that bad

Just how incompetent is the Obama administration? It turns out they knew the Russians were behind the Democratic National Committee and attempted Republican National Committee hackings, but according to NBC News, decided not to take any decisive action because they were assuming a Hillary Clinton victory, and therefore felt President Clinton could deal with the Russians when she took office.

At his end-of-year news conference Friday, President Barack Obama admitted to his own weakness with his statement that his response to the DNC hacking was to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin to "cut it out," when he saw Putin in China in September, fully a year after FBI agents tried to contact the DNC about the hacking attempts. What?! I hope Obama added a determined foot stomp and a "by golly" to his pitiful admonition to Putin.

I wonder if Putin laughed in Obama's face, or waited until he left the room. I think history will show the Putin abuse of Obama reached a crescendo at that moment. How is it possible that Obama's team decided a flimsy warning to Putin would be enough of a response? Maybe Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said it best when he tweeted, "There would be no strong Putin without a weak Obama."

The Democrats want to play the victim, blame Donald Trump and declare Trump the beneficiary of the Russians' interference in the 2016 campaign, but in fact, it was their own leadership that dropped the ball and gave the Russians the opening they needed. And, Attorney General Loretta Lynch's silence on this was deafening. Where was she when her agents were trying to get the DNC's attention? Probably somewhere carrying out her audition for a job in a Clinton administration.

Anyway, the tale of incompetence doesn't stop there. In a Keystone Cops-worthy episode revealed in no less than the New York Times, it turns out the FBI repeatedly called the DNC beginning in September 2015 to warn them about hacking attempts, but the Democratic staffer the FBI agent reached wouldn't return the agent's calls because "he wasn't certain the caller was a real FBI agent and not an imposter" and because the DNC had "nothing to report."

Not to mention, another Democratic staffer made the world's most inexplicable "typo" and called a phishing email a "legitimate email" instead of an "illegitimate" one, opening the path for a hacker to gain access to all of John Podesta's emails. Oops.

It's unbelievable. And as troubling as it is that Obama and the Democrats allowed the Russians to interfere in the election and engage in cyberwarfare without any ramifications, we shouldn't be surprised. After all, it is the Obama administration that has capitulated to Iran at every turn and stood by as Syrian government forces, facilitated by the Russians, slaughtered hundreds of thousands in Syria.

Now more than ever, it is clear it is time for an urgent change in our foreign policy. Obama and his team cannot leave office soon enough.

Previously:
• 09/19/16: Trump's economic plan is a good start
• 07/26/16: Hillary faces three challenges that are unique to her and to this era in modern politics
• 06/15/16: The Obama administration starts work to save Hillary's hind
• 06/01/16: The long lines at airports are a problem for Hillary Clinton
• 05/23/16: Three reasons Bernie Sanders should stay in the race
• 05/17/16: Obama calling the kettle black
• 03/29/16: Can we talk about Ted Cruz?
• 03/10/16: After Tuesday's results, all eyes are on Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell

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Ed Rogers is a a political consultant and a veteran of the White House and several national campaigns. He is the chairman of the lobbying and communications firm BGR Group, which he founded with former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour in 1991."