Maybe Trump and Obama are smarter than we think

How do we know Trump and Obama aren’t playing good cop/bad cop with Putin?

Is it even remotely possible that Trump and Obama love America more than we realize, more than they love themselves, and that they are smarter than we think? That they’re working together for the American people on this one?

If you’re Obama, and you know Putin has crossed the line, and continues to cross the line with what is considered acceptable espionage, how do you set up Trump to succeed where you have failed, and avoid a potentially catastrophic showdown with Russia? If you’re Obama maybe you take one for the team, in this case you take one for America. Maybe Obama and Trump are actually working together. Obama shows the indisputable evidence to Trump and he and Trump think this through. Obama plays bad cop and kicks out the diplomats and agents and shutters the compounds. He also does whatever they are doing behind the scenes with cyber attacks and hacks. Obama’s relationship with Putin worsens. But who cares? He’s out of office in a few weeks.

Trump plays the high-minded (and possibly dense) good cop and says it’s time to put this little thing behind us and develop good relations with Russia. Trump starts off his Presidency with a sharp contrast to Obama’s Russia policy and in the background we are as vigilant and clear-eyed as ever as far as Putin’s intentions and ambitions.

But Maybe Obama finally woke up and realized you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And now he is setting up Trump to succeed where he failed. And setting up Trump to have far more influence with Putin than he ever did.

It’s what I would do if I really cared about my country and not my petty personal legacy and tawdry political squabbles. And these guys are a lot smarter than I am. Maybe these guys aren’t as shallow and callow as we think. Maybe Obama cares more about America than his personal ego. Maybe they really are smart, are working together, and want to make America Great. Maybe they realize that you can never go broke underestimating the American press and realized if they feed this to them they would take the bit and fly like the wind, that the press really is as shallow and callow as we think and would do their work for them.

You never know.