ratbastid

Even that doesn't matter. What matters is that 51% of the electoral vote, chosen only by those citizens who actually vote, goes to the candidate. You've got to remember, the will of the public is far removed from the actual election results. Gore won the general majority but lost the electoral college game. Polling indicated that if turnout had been higher, he'd have taken the national majority by an even bigger number.

I think our system of statewide caucuses and primaries leads inevitably to this sort of gamesmanship. Ohio and New Hampshire are setting a tone for the rest of the run-up to the convention. I'm not at all convinced it's the smartest way to run an election--or that it's the way that guarantees that the best person to govern is ultimately elected. But that's politics, I guess.