At 10:51 -0500 11/9/00, Trei, Peter wrote:
evanmcmullen@yahoo.com] wrote:
what the hell is the electoral college still doing in existance? it should have gone out w/ unlimited presidential terms.... voting with their conscience my ass.... voting in a partisan fashion is more like it
[Learn to use your 'Shift' key; it's there for a reason.]
I expect that we still have an electoral college because amending the Constitution is a very laborious process, and fixing it has no constituancy; one party is about as likely to benefit from it as another.
I think underlying the electoral question is a more fundamental issue- as you said in later in your message, if the race isn't close, it doesn't matter. The question then is "in a fairly close race is it better for the president to be the person who represents the most people or the person who represents the most territory". The electoral college is designed choose the president based on territorial representation. -- "As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air--however slight--lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness." -- Justice William O. Douglas ____________________________________________________________________ Kevin "The Cubbie" Elliott <mailto:kelliott@mac.com> ICQ#23758827