The original idea behind the electoral college is that the vast populace of the country is not smart enough to directly vote for a president.

When I first learned this, I was in the 8th grade. Hooey, I thought. That makes not one bit of sense. My first thought was that we should do away with it and vote for the president direct.

I know better now. Only, the word smart is the wrong one. Better to use the term informed intelligence. Think about it. Who really knows the qualifications of those seeking the office. I used to think I do, but I don’t really.

We select the leader of our country by listening to a few speeches, reading a few newspapers and listening to a few news stories.

The speeches are written by people we never see. The news is written by biased reporters who frequently leave important points out. The same can be said about TV and radio but worse in that there is so little of it. The average half hour news program has less than 5 to 10 minutes of hard news. Maybe, it’s two or three minutes on the candidates.

Worse, most people don’t watch that little bit. It would appear many of the voters made their choice based on social media. Most of social media is full of false information.

Those who wrote the Constitution had it right. Most of us lack the knowledge. Many lack the desire to gain the knowledge. We are too busy living to be bothered by it. Yet, some of us, based on what little we know go to the polls and make one of the most important decisions we will make for 4 years. We will not only determine our own future, but also the future of of grandchildren. Invariably we will vote for people who will make decisions based on tomorrow’s news stories.

Better, we go back to the original electoral college. We vote for good honest people who can take the time to learn who the candidates are. They understand just what is really at stake. What they don’t know they take the time to learn.

Then the bunch of them meet for a week or two and decide on a president.

I have put this idea forward many times before and it seldom is received with agreement. Yet, when I ask the simple question, who is smart enough to select a president, I seldom receive an answer, leastways not a smart one.