It’s convenient to have an old friend who’s an expert on the Electoral College. In my case, it’s Tara Ross, author of several books. One is Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College. That was published in 2012. Another is a children’s book: We Elect a President: The Story of Our Electoral College. That was published in 2016. In September.
What timing!
Tara will have yet another book this fall: The Indispensable Electoral College: How the Founders’ Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule.
As you can tell, Tara is a great admirer of the Electoral College. The more she studies it, the more she admires it. The Framers certainly knew what they were doing in this case (as in so many others).
Usually, you like the Electoral College if it breaks your way and don’t like it if it doesn’t. Take Donald J. Trump.
On Election Day 2012, he was mightily upset with the Electoral College. He thought that President Obama might lose the popular vote but win in the Electoral College. He tweeted, “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.”
Four years later, of course, he was singing a different tune. “Genius,” he pronounced the Electoral College.
There is a song, “What a Difference a Day Makes,” sung by Ernestine Anderson among others. Four years, or a presidential election, can make a big difference too.
Tara Ross is my guest on Q&A. I ask her, How did it begin, this peculiar college? Is it fair? Can it be improved on? Etc. Tara is a superb teacher. Clear as a bell. I learned from her, and commend her to others as well.