Election rests on Electoral College

     Election Day in the United Sates is phenomena unique to our country. It is a day when we, the voters, bestow great power to our officials and strip it away from those who have not lived up to our standards.

     No other country in the world has a political process to compare with ours.

     Americans consider our process the best in the world. So, it must seem strange that we, the people, won’t know who will lead us for the next four years until a recount in Florida is made.

     Our system is unique, and the developments on Election Day have made it even more special.

     While people are complaining about the recounts being a tedious process, it is comforting to know that the people will be the ones who made the decision. In other countries a dictator could manipulate the election until a favorable outcome could be reached.

     It may be a slow process, but it shows we are careful about our politics.

     The fact that the presidential race was too close to call speaks volumes about our current political climate. The people of this country are sending a message to the two parties. Voters have shown that they are not going to tolerate one-party dominance anymore.

     Another odd occurrence of this election is that a dead man won election to the U.S. Senate.

     Mel Carnahan, the late Democratic governor of Missouri, died in a plane crash weeks ago, but it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.

     This is the first time in history that a deceased person has been elected. His widow will serve in his place.

     While many people may not be thrilled with the current state of politics, most have to admit that they were glued to their television sets as the election unfolded.

     Never before have absentee votes made such an impact on an election.

     The electoral votes haven’t been as close as this in more than a century. The outcome of the election will have the whole country talking about the electoral process for years.

     The reactionary response will be to discard the entire Electoral College system and base the presidential elections on popular votes instead.

     This reaction would be a mistake. The electoral system has worked for over 200 years, and to change would be to spit in the face of our forefathers.

     The Electoral College may be confusing and might not make any sense to many people, but it is in place for a reason, and it has worked in the past.

     Elections as close as this one are rare and appear to expose flaws in the system, but the public can be fooled and the Electoral College has helped prevent that somewhat.

     Whoever the president is, he has a very difficult road ahead of him.

     The House and Senate have a very slim Republican majority. The check and balance system will be firmly in place no matter who becomes president.