From Russia, With Love

So what did Russia do to influence the election and does it matter?

The answers are that from what we can tell, the Russians tried to shape the media space in such a way as to help Donald Trump. How this fact matters depends on what lens you're using to examine the situation.

Does the Russian interference "delegitimize" Donald Trump? No more so than having lost the popular vote by the same margin that John Kerry lost to George W. Bush. Trump is going to be the president. Period. He will be duly elected and sworn in in such a manner as to satisfy all Constitutional requirements. Like it or not, that makes him legitimate. Whatever Russia did.

But Russian revelations do create two tests early on, one for the Republican party and one for President Trump.

First, Trump: Throughout the campaign, Trump found himself on opposite sides of just about every issue, sometimes within days. Or even minutes. Single-payer healthcare, the free market, immigration, ISIS, Syria, jailing Hillary Clinton, abortion, NATO, Mexico, China—even The Wall. The only issue on which he was completely steadfast—literally the only issue—was his admiration of Russia. Will Trump's kowtowing to Putin continue in office? By not responding to President Obama's response, Putin has forced Trump into an early decision.