Meddling in other countries’ elections isn’t always outrageous
You’d have to be living in a cave to be unaware of the controversy over Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. And much of the related discussion has approached apocalyptic levels.
We’re told that when one country meddles in another’s election, it’s a hostile act. Some have even likened it to war.
But do we really disapprove of all such meddling? Or is our attitude situational, depending on who’s doing the meddling and whether we agree with the objective?
Think about U.S. President Barack Obama and the United Kingdom’s 2016 Brexit referendum. As recently recounted by Obama’s adviser Ben Rhodes, the Obama administration – and Obama – sought to intervene in the referendum to help the Remain (anti-Brexit) side.