Cooper: Heeding Jeh Johnson's advice

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, left, has a few words about Russian hacking for President Barack Obama.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, left, has a few words about Russian hacking for President Barack Obama.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has some sound words for his boss, the current president of the United States, and for the president-elect. We hope they'll both heed them.

For Barack Obama, he said, in essence, the president needs to stop casting blame for potential Russian hacking into the Democratic Party and its operatives, and to look at himself and those around him.

"Well, ultimately it's all of us," Johnson told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. "The president ultimately has responsibility. The Department of Homeland Security has responsibility. The IC [Intelligence Community], of course, it's on all of us, certainly those of us in the Cabinet. The public has a role in this as well. But there are definitely some lessons learned here and for the future."

Obama, at times, has blamed Donald Trump, the media, the Republican Party and the public in the matter.

Even Johnson did a little blame-casting in suggesting the blaming should be directed inward. He said his department announced the likelihood of Russian hacking on Oct. 7, the day the news broke - and brought forth a salivating media - of a 15-year-old tape of Trump's inelegant remarks to an "Access Hollywood" reporter.

With the election of Hillary Clinton in the bag for Democrats, the party's slavish media couldn't be bothered with allegations of Russian hacking when there was an opportunity to bury Trump deeper in what they believed was his own slime. Thus, any impact of any actual news was little heeded, the Homeland Security secretary indicated.

As for advice to the president-elect, Johnson said this week's terrorist attack in Berlin, Germany, should remind the United States of the continued need for vigilance. He said large cities are doing the best job in enforcement in being proactive at public gatherings.

Where the federal government needs to make improvement, he said, is in counterterrorism patrol methods among law enforcement and the public in medium-sized cities and small towns.

We hope President-elect Trump does have cities like Orlando, San Bernadino and Chattanooga in mind as he comes to grips with how to get a better handle on illegal immigration and terrorism once the new administration begins.

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