IMO, the whole Florida situation was stupidity on the part of the media, forgetting that the panhandle is on central time. Had that gaffe not occurred, Florida could have either a) been solidly Bush's, without a drawn-out court battle or b) given Gore a real chance to win it. Of course, that's all water under the bridge now. We know Gore got more votes, but Bush got the Electoral College. He's the president. If folks don't like it, step up for 2004...it'll be here sooner than you think. Better yet, step up for the Congressional elections in November.
I guess the Electoral College is good in the sense that it helps a candidate in small-population states (which Dubya cleaned up on out west).
As a whole though, I think it's a vote diluter. It waters down votes in big-population states like California, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Who knows why so few people have decided to live in a large state like Montana, and who knows why so many people have decided to cram into a state like New Jersey. Votes are votes. The whole system may have been practical in 1788, but not now.
In addition, I think it gives false senses in some elections. For example, Bush Sr. walloped Dukakis in the Electoral College: 426 to 111. But in the popular vote, Bush won by 7 million votes. Granted, that's a lot of votes, but percentage-wise, it looks much closer.
What pisses me off the most though are people like Arlen Specter, who appease their constituents by talking about reforming the system, yet let it die off without doing anything. Granted, this sort of thing happens a lot, but given what a mess 2000 was, I would have thought there would actually be some real reform.
Rant off.
