Dear upset Americans, here are my words of sympathy

You have my heartfelt sympathy; but I’d like to add that this happens all the time – and the Russians aren’t the only ones (allegedly) doing it. The only difference this time is that your outgoing Obama administration is, rather successfully, depicting an evil empire undermining your sovereignty.
You just have to get used to it. The good news is that your country is powerful enough to project its angry reaction into front-page headlines all over the world. There are poorer, smaller and less well-equipped nations that simply have to grit their teeth and suffer this kind of (alleged) practice. They can’t even make it look like an evil empire is undermining their sovereignty. In most cases, they are made to look evil themselves.
It’s probably wise to believe Donald Trump when he says he isn’t a Russian puppet, not least because things could get very messy otherwise. First off, many of your fellow compatriots voted for him, democratically it seemed, so they deserve some respect. That should be the least of the problems, though. My biggest concern is that if you conclude your new president is being worked by strings from Moscow, a “puppets-of-the-puppet” situation will arise.
I’m not accusing your politicians and authorities of having planted puppet governments around the world (although there is a curious Wikipedia entry that appears to endorse that allegation). My point is, even if it’s just a rumour, what should we call such a government in the future? 
What if a leader like the Shah of Iran rose again? Should we call a Shah-like regime the ultimate puppet of Russia? That would cause major diplomatic confusion.
Spare a thought for future students of political science. For instance, if Thailand delays its election to 2018 and thereby draws criticism from Trump’s America, will it be Washington calling the shots or Moscow? What should we think? That Russia, which you guys say doesn’t care about democracy, now cares about democracy?
Obviously, there are many kinds of foreign intervention. There is only one universal pretext, though. Everyone says it’s done for the greater good. If the Russians have really done what they are alleged to have done, I bet it would be for the greater good as well.
The issue of foreign intervention will get even more intriguing when Trump takes office. Will he pursue Barack Obama’s suspicion of Moscow, which US media outlets insist is shared by many leading Republicans? In implementing harsh, last-minute diplomatic measures against Russia, the outgoing president has effectively “hit and run”, leaving his successor with a highway strewn with wreckage and dead bodies and an unenviable cleanup job.
Trump can choose to laugh off and cancel Obama’s “sanctions” against Russia and thereby fuel suspicions. Or the new president could opt to do what US administrations do best while at the receiving end of a diplomatic uproar – buy time and bore the rest of the world to tears until a major earthquake strikes somewhere or terrorists detonate a big bomb.
Four years is a short period of time, and before you know it, Trump will be seeking a re-election. The “Russian puppet” label will carry more power during that campaign, but he will have had 48 months to figure out how to respond to it.
Obama’s allegation affects America more than Russia. If it’s true, it renders Jason Bourne, “Mission Impossible” – and practically every other movie in which American spies prevail over their Russian counterparts – a pitiful joke. It would be tantamount to the Russians saying “Whatever you are capable of in films, we can better it in real life.” That’s one heck of a bragging right, and this is not to mention the most horrifying question: If Russia has the computer skills to guide America’s political path, what about the nuclear warheads?
If Obama’s allegation is not true, the scenario is no less scary. If we assume that Russia did not actually mastermind the US paranoia, this whole episode reflects a huge flaw in American democracy. It shows how far US politicians can and will go to discredit an election opponent. A “model democracy” must not allow such a blatant lie, or else what’s good about the system anyway?
I do feel sorry for you, but I also strongly believe that you will be better off letting things be. In the worst-case scenario, four years under Vladimir Putin (indirectly, of course), can’t be that bad. I’m not his biggest fan, but he has offered sanctuary to so-called pro-democracy dissidents, including some from your country, so there must be some good in him.
Happy New Year, America; and to those of you who are still upset, take it easy. Things that go around come around – but they all pass eventually.