ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
August 31, 2015
This is a letter to our friends –
President of what?
Have you thought about it? The President is the President of what?
Members of my last Principles of American Government (PAG) class stumbled over the obvious answer –
He is the President of the United States. He is not President of the people!
In the coming months we will often hear complaints about the “Electoral College”. It is important for Americans to understand what that is and why it exists.
Delegates from the 50 states meet every four years, according to the Constitution, to elect the President of the states. “We the people” don’t elect the President. We vote in our respective states to elect delegates to the Electoral College. The delegates to the Electoral College elect the President. This is a good thing!
A nation as large and as diverse as ours exhibits unity with diversity. We must respect and honor our differences. Were we to have a national election where a majority of all the voters elected the President of the United States, votes by citizens of the smaller states would count for little. Further, votes by rural and suburban areas would count for little. Votes cast in the largest cities would determine the national election.
The system may not suit everyone, but I suggest, the system has served us well for two centuries. Let’s not change it unless we are confident it is replaced with something better.
BTW – The next online PAG course begins Wednesday, September 9th at 9am PT. Phone me if you want in.
