Choosing the President by a plurality of the national popular vote will provide sense to American politics. Utahns deserve the same consideration from presidential aspirants as Florida retirees and Seattle techies.

Webb: Speaking of the Electoral College in Federalist No. 68, Alexander Hamilton said, ". . . that if the manner of it be not perfect, it is at least excellent."

I absolutely agree. It may not be perfect, but it is excellent. It was a compromise, like many compromises embodied in the

Constitution. But far from being archaic and unnecessary, the Electoral College protects the rights of minorities, enhances the status of states, defends against further erosion of federalism, and helps ensure stability and reason in elections and in government.

The Founding Fathers did not create the Electoral College frivolously. James Madison, in Federalist No. 39, brilliantly outlines

the differences between a national government and a federal government and how the Constitution deftly balances elements of each. The Electoral College is one of the bulwarks of that carefully-created balance.

The Electoral College forces candidates to take into consideration the interests of states, including small states. Instead of simply pandering to large demographic voting blocs in the mass media markets, candidates must campaign state-by-state, getting to know state and local leaders, state and local priorities.

A candidate has to say, "How can I win a majority vote in Ohio? How can I win in Florida?" That elevates the power and importance of states. It makes states meaningful. A sitting president looking toward re-election has to think, "How can I keep individual states and their leaders happy?

In the Constitution they drafted, the Founders ensured that states matter, that state leaders and priorities would be addressed by presidential candidates.

It's true that states that are clearly supportive of one candidate or another don't receive as much attention in presidential elections as battleground states. But it's not because those states aren't important. The "safe" states have essentially already made their choice. In Utah, most voters have concluded that President Bush reflects our priorities and values, that he cares about Utah and will represent us well. He doesn't have to campaign here, run TV ads, to further convince us.