Do you realize the public doesn't choose the president?

Anonymous
People get soooo swept into this, but in reality we the general public have no say what so ever. Yes our nominated delegates "normally" vote the way we want them to, but as the 2000 election shows that isn't always the case...
jsteele
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Anonymous wrote:People get soooo swept into this, but in reality we the general public have no say what so ever. Yes our nominated delegates "normally" vote the way we want them to, but as the 2000 election shows that isn't always the case...


I believe you have confused "popular vote" and "presidential electors". There are no delegates, actually, in the general election. In 2000, Gore won the popular vote, which has no legal bearing on the election. Bush won a majority in the electoral college. The Florida controversy was related to recounts, which if completed, could have shown that Gore won and given him enough electors to have won the election.




Anonymous
I think OP confused "elected delegates" with presidential electors. The electoral college decides the president. Thus Gore won the popular vote in 2000 but not the presidency. Had the Supreme Court not halted recounts in Florida, the outcome of 2000 might well have been different. Thanks SO much, Supreme Court.
Rich
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Anonymous wrote:I think OP confused "elected delegates" with presidential electors. The electoral college decides the president. Thus Gore won the popular vote in 2000 but not the presidency. Had the Supreme Court not halted recounts in Florida, the outcome of 2000 might well have been different. Thanks SO much, Supreme Court.

The Constitution does not even say that people elect the electors. The Florida legislature had the power to choose electors, and had every intention of overriding the Florida popular vote if Gore had succeeded in turning it around. Where things would have gone from there might be a good premise for a political thriller.
Anonymous
Rich, did you read Jeffrey Toobin's book, The Nine? Fascinating discussion of how the Court worked to give us Governor Bush. Souter almost resigned, he was in such despair over the process and the blatant partisanship involved.
Rich
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Anonymous wrote:Rich, did you read Jeffrey Toobin's book, The Nine? Fascinating discussion of how the Court worked to give us Governor Bush. Souter almost resigned, he was in such despair over the process and the blatant partisanship involved.

Although I'm not a believer, at the thought of Souter being replaced by a Bush appointment I admit that an involuntary "Thank God he stayed!" escaped my lips. I guess, to paraphrase an old saying, there are no atheists in the face of a Scalia majority.
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