What should President Obama have done when he was told by intelligence that Russia had interfered?

[kentuck]

In our elections?

What do you think he should have done?

It seems to me that he did a very thoughtful and thorough job.

Just my opinion.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Lose lose, one set of rules if you are a democrat, one if you are a republican

and another if you are a black guy.

He would have been savagely destroyed by the media and the right for allegedly playing politics which he wouldnt have been doing.
I think he knows in his heart of hearts that america is done in that there is no way to resolve this because to do that you need patriots in the GOP.

[Girard442]

2. One more Democrat showing up to a knife fight toting "Robert's Rules of Order." NT

[Hoyt]

3. I'm a big Obama supporter; but, if he knew Russians were interfering, he should have made it public

and taken steps to stop it. I think the federal government has the responsibility to ensure integrity of national elections.

[Hekate]

7. As I recall, he did make it public, and he and Joe Biden both said they had taken actions....

...that we would probaby never hear about, as well as some we would eventually hear about.

One of the actions we have heard about in recent weeks was that the Obama admin spread all the info they had around to all of the 17 IC departments so that no one with ill intent could just bundle everything into a burn bag and destroy it. Malcolm Nance has spoken authoritatively and approvingly about these actions on Rachel Maddow's show.

[Hoyt]

8. You may be right, but all I remember is him announcing after the election that there was some hackin

g and imposing some sanctions. Unfortunately, after the election was a little late. If he announced it before the election, then I stand corrected.

[kentuck]

9. He told the public.

He informed the public that 17 intelligence agencies said there was high probability that the Russians had interfered in our elections.

Was there anyone in America that did not know we suspected the Russians of interfering in our elections, other than Donald Trump?

Why did they have to meet the Russian ambassador in secret? In one instance, they slipped the Russian ambassador thru a backdoor, past any reporters or cameras, for a meeting with Flynn and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law. What did they discuss? It must have been important to be so secretive about it, don't you think?

[Doreen]

4. He should have started

having it thoroughly investigated.

[leftstreet]

5. I'll always wish someone in his Admin had leaked Trump's tax returns

oh well

[Hekate]

6. I agree that he did a thoughtful thorough job. According to today's Wikileaks dump....

...the CIA has -- oh heck I can't remember all the stuff NPR reported while I was driving the freeway, but let's say they've been busy people. Good for them.

As for Assange of Wikileaks, I wish someone would shut him up by removing every piece of electronic equipment from his room in the embassy. Give him a dime to use the payphone in the lobby.

[Tatiana]

10. He should have held a press conference and gone public with it.

Damn the consequences, damn the political viewpoints. For once in his life, he should have been partisan. He should have been the President of the the People in This Country Who Want to Stay Alive and Believe in Education.

He should have alerted Hillary and the DNC immediately and ensured that there was a political liaison to help the DNC take appropriate measures to protect itself and its data.

He thought Hillary would win and would assume leadership over investigation of the activities. It never occurred to him that Hillary would lose. He should have assumed Trump would win and acted in accordance with that viewpoint.

[kentuck]

12. I recall it differently.

I thought he did all the things that you mentioned? But, as I recall, it became a big issue of the campaign?

[Tatiana]

15. It wasn't as big of an issue as it should have been. And that cost us.

If that’s true, why didn’t the Obama administration push to release it earlier?

For one, the White House was probably afraid of looking like it was tipping the scale in Hillary Clinton’s favor, especially in an election that her opponent repeatedly described as rigged. Though Obama stumped for Clinton around the country, the administration didn’t want to open him up to attacks that he unfairly used intelligence to undermine Trump’s campaign, the Post reported.

Instead, top White House officials gathered key lawmakers—leadership from the House and Senate, plus the top Democrats and Republicans from both houses’ intelligence and homeland security committees—to ask for a bipartisan condemnation of Russia’s meddling. The effort was stymied by several Republicans who weren’t willing to cooperate, including, reportedly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (On Sunday morning, a bipartisan statement condemning the hacks came from incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Jack Reed, a Democrat, and Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham.)

It’s also possible that the administration, like most pollsters and pundits, was overconfident in its assessment that Clinton would win the election. Officials may have been more willing to lob incendiary accusations—and risk setting off a serious political or cyber conflict with Russia—if they had thought Trump had a good chance to win.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/12/why-didnt-obama-reveal-intel-about-russias-influence-on-the-election/510242/

If he couldn't get bipartisan agreement (which, again, he would NEVER get from this cabal of Republicans), he should have gone ahead with a condemnation from the White House. The WH and Office of the Presidency carries a lot weight.

The Obama administration has been debating for months how to respond to the alleged Russian intrusions, with White House officials concerned about escalating tensions with Moscow and being accused of trying to boost Clinton’s campaign.

In September, during a secret briefing for congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voiced doubts about the veracity of the intelligence, according to officials present.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.eb440bdb3146

This had been known for months. Harry Reid tried to sound the alarm. The President should have backed him up.

[kentuck]

16. I do recall that McConnell refused to go along with a bi-partisan announcement.

Without the other Party, it was assumed that it would look like nothing more than blatant partisanship.

[Tatiana]

18. Against the party that wanted to make Obama a 1-term President?

Should we really have cared about being partisan? So much was at stake.

It was worth the risk and potential hit to his legacy to go public in a forceful and emphatic matter.

His job should have been to push public opinion in Hillary's favor and motivate those people who didn't vote because they thought Hillary would win to get up off their butts and vote for her just to ensure we didn't get ruled by Russia.

[adigal]

11. He should have told us...but God forbid Obama has anyone angry at him. McConnell bullied him

I think Obama spent a bit too much time worrying about angering those who hate him and worrying about his approval rating. But that's just my opinion.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Mine too.

[Hekate]

13. Well, Kentuck, it's evident from the responses that people's memories are as selective as ever

The man is obviously just a pile of mush. <--

[kentuck]

17. Contradictions, over and over, plant seeds of doubt.

[Hekate]

19. Plus it's just so sad he left his magic wand back at Hogwarts. What's wrong with that man?

Honestly, I'll never understand. (more sarcasm)