Obama: I handled the Russian hacks properly. Its the media that didnt. [View all]
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/16/13988114/obama-russia-hacking-election
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When President Obama was asked at his year-end press conference Friday about a perception that he was letting President Putin get away with interfering with the US election, he responded with a condemnation of the medias coverage of Democrats leaked emails.
Obama argued that once his administration had clarity and certainty about what in fact had happened, we publicly announced that Russia had hacked into the DNC during the campaign making sure the public was informed of Russias culpability before the election.
But he argued that complaints from the media that he should have done more fall short of the mark and neglected medias own role in amplifying the damage to Clinton. The truth is that there was nobody here who didnt have some sense about what kind of effect it might have, Obama said. Im finding it a little curious that everybodys suddenly acting surprised that this looked like it was disadvantaging Hillary Clinton because you guys wrote about it every day! Every single week!
As his voice dripped with disdain, Obama said the press covered every little juicy tidbit of political gossip. Including John Podestas risotto recipe. This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage. So I do think its worth us reflecting how it is that a presidential election of such importance, of such moment, with so many big issues at stake and such a contrast between the candidates, came to be dominated by a bunch of these leaks.
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