Rules are for the Little People

Just one of the reasons I value the Electoral College is that it deprives a candidate of focusing on just the high population states for votes. It makes far more sense under the rules of the game to appeal to a broader portion of the country.

Case in point:

Bill Clinton carried California twice by the solid margin of 13 points. In 2016 she carried it by 30. But she built up that margin by taking stands that antagonized “deplorables” in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, and the rest is history.

It would not be healthy for our large country if dominating the 9 largest population states (based on the largest population cities) meant you win the entire country (at the federal level) despite people in vast sections rejecting your party.

All Hillary Clinton had to do was campaign a little more in the states she ignored and appeal to their concerns--even at the risk of winning California "only" by Bill's margin--and she'd be president and nobody would be complaining about the Electoral College as an excuse for failing to follow the rules everybody knew.