President Obama claims that the Russians broke into Democratic databases to obtain and leak damaging information in an attempt to influence our election.  The Russians deny it.  And yesterday it was also claimed, by anonymous Obama administration officials who refuse to be named, that the Russians tried to infiltrate our power grid.

A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to U.S. officials.

While the Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations of the utility, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a security matter, the penetration of the nation’s electrical grid is significant because it represents a potentially serious vulnerability. Government and utility industry officials regularly monitor the nation’s electrical grid because it is highly computerized and any disruptions can have disastrous implications for the function of medical and emergency services.

American officials, including one senior administration official, said they are not yet sure what the intentions of the Russians might have been. The penetration may have been designed to disrupt the utility’s operations or as a test by the Russians to see whether they could penetrate a portion of the grid.

The question, of course, is whom to believe: Vladimir Putin or Barack Obama?

Vladimir Putin is a quasi-dictator.  He murders political opponents.  He has an occupying army in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.  He is singlehandedly responsible for Iran having nuclear weapons – Russia provided the reactor that Iran used to enrich uranium.  He gives arms to every major radical Shi'ite regime, whether it be Iran, Syria, or Hezb'allah.

But Barack Obama is a proven liar and law-breaker.  He lied when he told people they could keep their doctors and their health care plans.  He lied when he said our war against terrorists has nothing to do with Islam.  He lied when he said he wouldn't raise taxes.  He broke the law when he unilaterally changed both Obamacare and workfare legislation on his own, without enabling legislation.  He broke the law with his amnesty for children of illegal aliens.  He set aside a huge area in the Atlantic and Arctic from oil and gas drilling and claimed that his ban cannot be undone by future presidents or congresses.  He made a bad deal with Iran and did not submit the treaty for verification, as law required.

So whom to believe?  Right now, at least until we have a change in administration, there is no way to know.  We have to choose between the word of a quasi-dictator and someone who tries to act like a quasi-dictator.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.