The Al Gore compact

The Golden State, which seems to receive a fair amount of attention in popular culture and is speeding toward a population of 50 million, nevertheless has low self esteem about its place in the presidential race. Frontloading the primary to Feb. 5 has become sort of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor designed to bring us out of our depression.

The other method is sabotaging the Electoral College, responsible in part for the election of George W. Bush in 2000. A bill headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk would essentially bypass the college and allocate California's 55 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The Electoral College would not be eliminated, but it's rules would be changed if California and enough states to make up a majority of electors ratify the interstate compact.

Hendrik Hertzberg, writing in the New Yorker, says relegating the Electoral College to a ceremonial role, something like when Queen Elizabeth II anoints a new prime minister, would radically alter presidential politics. He says:

"From that moment, for the first time, Presidential elections would be truly national. Every citizen's vote would be worth casting, and worth campaigning for, no matter what state it happened to be cast in. Grassroots politics would be worth the trouble everywhere, not just in a dozen swing states. No more red states and blue states, just the red-white-and-blue United States, its Constitution unchanged but its constitution made worthy of a mature democracy."

But wouldn't other states be ignored if California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Florida became the only real players? What is the incentive to campaign in Arkansas or Maryland if you can win by concentrating on the big dogs?

The battleground strategy has been good to Republicans in the last two presidential races, and they are understandably skeptical about changing the rules. Schwarzenegger, too, has already vetoed a similar measure, saying: "This is counter to the tradition of our great nation, which honors states rights and the unique pride and identity of each state." (Not that Schwarzenegger would object to altering another section of the Constitution regarding presidential elections.)

Another important dynamic for Republicans is a demographic shifts that could alter the political landscape. Michael Barone, writing recently in the Wall Street Journal, says electoral votes are shifting "toward the Interior Megalopolises, where most voters are private-sector religious Republicans but where significant immigrant populations lean to the Democrats. House seats and electoral votes will shift from New York, New Jersey and Illinois to Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada."

Some Republicans find the issue more basic. They don't want to substitute a republican form of government (which originally allowed more power to slave-owning states) for a more straight-forward democratic process. Charles Signorile writes: "Those in favor of abolishing the electoral college feel a Democracy is a superior form of government to a republic. Our founding fathers (whom I consider substantially wiser than Hillary Clinton) adamantly disagreed. ... John Adams once said 'Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.' "

(Photos: Shawn Thew/EPA)