Do 538 Voters Chose the President? YES!

Call me a traditionalist -- I LIKE the Electoral College.

Now, don't confuse "traditionalism" with "conservatism" [in any of its meanings -- the word is notoriously vague AND ambiguous (and by the way "vague" and "ambiguous" are not the same thing!]

By "traditionalism" I mean having an appreciation for the importance and often the dignity of the past. Its part of who we are after all!

Some genuine "conservatives" [see one of my earlier blogs for an explanation] rely on the past as an epistemological guide. [Ok Ok OK...philosophy 101 -- "epistemology" = notions about how we understand or know what is true.]. These conservatives feel that if an idea or institution has lasted over the years it must have in its essence some truthiosity [that's my woodyallenization]. So the past can be a reliable guide for what we should do today and so on.

BUT...that's not me. I just feel that a conscious connection with our past is one way to understand and value our unique identity. OF COURSE I don't value ALL aspects of our past....no one does! We CHOOSE which elements of our past to value and dis-value. [That's some of my existentialism leaking out!]

I CHOOSE to value the 538 process.

I know....it can happen that somebody gets 270 electoral votes but does NOT get the plurality of the popular vote. Remember President Gore?!?! [There have been others.] Is this a bad thing? Sure! But there is something of value in presidential candidates vying for the support of diverse and often conflicting sections of the population. Otherwise, a candidate could easily win by focusing ONLY on population centers and IGNORING lightly populated areas, often with alternative-minded people. Why Alaska could be totally forgotten! [Hmmmmm....]