As half the country goes through an unofficial period of mourning in the aftermath of the Mueller report, one thing has become absolutely clear: Vladimir Putin got exactly what he wanted.

No, I’m not talking about installing a Russian puppet in the White House. I’m talking about Putin’s actual goal: undermining faith in American democracy. And in this his most helpful, if unwitting allies have been most of the mainstream media.

Russia was seeking to delegitimize the expected Clinton victory. Facebook ads targeting Hillary Clinton in broken English didn’t undermine anything without the help of Putin’s unwitting partner: the mainstream media.

For over two years, guest after guest speculated about Russian agents “hacking our election. ” Partisan pundits blamed Russian interference for the results of every single race that turned out poorly for Democrats.

Putin got what he wanted, not from Mr. Trump but from his irresponsible critics.