Prediction: the big winner in this presidential election

The Electoral College. The last two elections (especially Bush-Gore) spawned a brief Democratic flirtation with the notion of scrapping it in favor of the national popular vote, but I think this election will put that idea to rest.

CNN's 'poll of polls' shows a pretty tight race--49% Obama to 43% McCain. But, their electoral map tells a much different story--250 votes for Obama to 189 votes for McCain (270 is the magic number). The Sunday talk shows seem to agree that the polls will tighten up over the next few weeks, so we'll probably see another close race in terms of the popular vote, but to make it competitive in the EC, McCain will have to do something dramatic like winning both Ohio and Florida, or taking back Pennsylvania from Obama. So, something tells me that the Dems will soon find a renewed respect for the institution.