Is it just me...

....or do these op-ed columnists get dumber on a daily basis? E.J. Dionne writes such a lackluster, unconvincing column on the dismantling of the electoral college system that, had it appeared in the blogosphere instead of the Washington Post, it would be just another piece of unlinked flotsam in the great internet sea. But since the standards-free WaPost chooses to print it, I'll spill some virtual ink mocking it...

He starts by exposing his deep-seated hatreds:

The American way of electing presidents is antiquated, impractical and dangerous. It is odd indeed that in 2000, a nation devoted to spreading democracy throughout the world gave power to a man who received 543,895 fewer votes than his opponent.

And exposes his psychological predisposition for projection by saying:

And please, dear Republican friends, don't shout "Get over it!"

E.J.: Get over it. The fact that you can't is evidenced by your support of the following:

As someone who lives in Maryland, I am proud that my state may pioneer a process that could lead to popular election of the president. The state Senate passed a bill last Wednesday that would commit Maryland's 10 electors to voting for the winner of the nationwide popular vote.

How nice - so if 90% of Maryland's voters cast their ballots for a Democratic candidate for President, and a Republican wins the popular vote overall, all of Maryland's electors would be forced to vote for the Republican candidate, thus completely thwarting the will of the state's electorate. Even their voice of protest against said imaginary Republican would be squelched, as their state would officially be labeled as "red". I am sure this is not the outcome that Dionne expects, but as he points out, Bush did win the popular vote by 3 million + in '04....

Finally, look at the arguments Dionne makes to support his crooked election scam:

Yes, this is an effort to circumvent the cumbersome process of amending the Constitution. That's the only practical way of moving toward a more democratic system.

Sorry the Constitution doesn't fit your needs, Dionne. While we are at it, what other elements would you like to circumvent against the will of the people, and in defiance of the genius of the framers (a genius you apparently feels pales before your own)? The Second Amendment obviously needs to go, but why stop there? What about that entire pesky "bill of rights"?

Final statement of stupidity:

But direct election of presidents works just fine in France and in Mexico, which managed to get through a divisive, terribly narrow presidential election last year. Are opponents of the popular vote saying our country is less competent at running elections than France or Mexico?

We always say here that liberals are dying to turn America into Europe, or into a third world nation. Now we have the proof, as Dionne challenges us to live up to these nation's lofty ideals. Hey E.J., in case you haven't looked lately, France is on the verge of civil war, and Mexico is in economic ruin, with as many of its citizens as possible moving to...the United States.

If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it. E.J. isn't happy with the results, so he'd rather praise countries that have had mayhem, revolution, tyrants and anarchy over the last 200+ years, as opposed to America, which simply has had one peaceful election after another for generations.

To Dionne, the only honest election is one where his candidate gets elected. There is no other.

Buddy - get over it.