The Electoral College represents a process mandated in the U.S. Constitution for the election of the president. Lately, Hillary supporters have pointed out that Trump won the electoral vote but Hillary is the rightful president because she won the popular vote. Barring the fact that everyone understood the rules of the game prior to the election, I believe the reason people have a problem with the electoral college is our educational system no longer emphasizes teaching civics and history. A significant number of citizens have no clue how this government works or why it was set up this way in the first place. All they understand is, "I didn't get my way....the Constitution sucks." Which is why they turned their backs as Obama continued to circumvent the Constitution over the past eight years. And why they love portraying the Constitution incorrectly as a "living document" which should be changed indiscriminately at their whim. On a similar point, keep in mind that the smaller, less populous states would not have ratified the Constitution if we had a straight popular vote election because that would mean that they would always be overrun by the larger states.

Here's an interesting factoid.  The Electoral College is supposed to be bound to vote the way their states voted.  However, they are not totally obligated to do so.  In other words, even though the state vote went for Trump, the 
electors for that state could still place their vote for Hillary and that would be perfectly legal.  The founding fathers placed this check and balance into the system just in case the population voted for someone totally unfit to be president.  Whether they ever choose their option to do this to influence an election remains to be tested.

Can the Electoral College be eliminated?  Of course, by an amendment to the Constitution.  This is a difficult process requiring a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to propose the amendment, then at least three-fourths of the states must ratify the amendment. This, of course, is designed to make doubly sure that the amendment has the broad support of the people.  The cumbersome process is also the reason the Constitution has only been amended 27 times.  However, recent events have seen the political class circumvent the process by legislating through the judicial system and unlawfully attempting to thumb the proverbial nose at the Constitution via executive order. 

It's November 9, 2016, and the world is still stunned that the billionaire Donald J. Trump is president-elect of the United States.  What is amazing about this accomplishment is that Trump had almost everything against him.  Not only the Democrat establishment, but even most of the Republican establishment did everything they could to derail his chances of becoming president.  The mainstream media was a willing accomplice in this derailment effort.  He was outfunded, did not have his opponent's intricate ground game, and pollsters wrote him off most of the campaign cycle.  

However, Trump triumphed against the odds.  He assembled an elite team of advisors, ignored all the naysayers, and pursued the presidency with tenacity and the heart of a lion.  Trump showed us the stuff that made him the billionaire legend, the quintessential winner, the man who wrote the book on how to achieve your dreams.  Which is why I believe that the country will be in good hands.  I believe that these winner traits will carry over into his tenure in the  Oval Office, and America will once again experience the greatness we saw in the 80s under Ronald Reagan.  I see a reuniting of all Americans regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation who subscribe to the values that make America work:  Rugged individualism, entrepreneurial spirit, love of freedom, and devotion to country. And I believe that America will once again take on a leadership position on the world stage instead of bowing down and cowering down to other nations.

God bless America........it's going to be a wonderful four years.