When presidential candidates take their message to diverse groups in diverse states, elections remain inclusive rather than exclusive, and contribute to the national consensus, eliminating the bitterness of losing minorities. That's why, even in elections where the president wins fewer popular votes than his opponent, the public has closed ranks behind the victor. Nobody gets scorned or ignored. It is no coincidence that the Democratic liberals, like Hillary, want to abandon the Electoral College. They're the most suspicious of states' rights, but its states' rights that protects the voices of those who may see things differently in fly-over country.
Every state counts.
The defense of the Electoral College prevails in a baseball analogy suggested by Ronald D. Rotunda of the Cato Institute. We count the number of games won, not the number of runs scored in the World Series. Both teams start out as equals in each game. In the same way, it doesn't matter how many more votes Gov. Bush may have racked up in Texas or Vice President Gore in California once they achieve a majority there. They must win votes in smaller states, too, to win the Electoral college.