[Soul Seeker]

You mentioned totality of votes. That is why I brought up that they do not own the majority opinion of the country and haven't since Carter's first election. How does this translate to electoral politics? It makes it difficult for them to line up enough states to win the electoral collage. The two are connected. An election can be won without the popular vote, not by much still doable, but it's a much harder road. Especially when the majority of states lean conservative in sympathy.

There are good reasons Democrats are skittish about Hillary's chances to take a "red" state. Because the makeup of popular opinion leans majority conservative, it makes electoral politics a bit easier road for Republicans. The majority of states reflect this majority opinion.

Again, Dems road to W.H. is one of two-

1) Perceived moderate/conservative Southern Governor (Carter, Clinton--Warner?)

2) Disenchanted conservative base of the Republican Party sitting out or voting third party if the candiate isn't liked. In this scenario Hillary, Gore or kerry could win. Any Liberal could conceivably win.

[conservative physics]

Actually you could still win the presidency with a substantial minority of votes.

Imagine a scenario where a Republican running for President promised to do something really bad to California and New York residents if he was elected.... and in response nearly 100% of eligible voters in those 2 states turned out against him, while the rest of the country was split fairly evenly between him and his opponent with a lackluster turnout. The republican could win with only 35-40% of the vote.