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Why Bush Is Coming to Youngstown
The following is a Business Journal editorial:The more we study history and follow politics and politicians, the more we continue to be impressed by the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. No, we don't deify them or think they were divinely inspired although their genius and understanding of human nature inspires awe.The men who wrote our Constitution recognized the need to recognize the will of the majority and struck a delicate balance that has simultaneously, for more than two centuries, looked out for the rights and interests of the minorities and disadvantaged.By the time you read this, President Bush should be in Youngstown, something that wouldn't have happened were it not for the Electoral College.Detractors contend the Electoral College is undemocratic because it allows a candidate to win the presidency without winning the popular vote. True, and all candidates for the presidency run fully aware of the rules. They and their advisers shape their campaigns to win at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, not just the popular vote.Four years ago, when an increasingly realistic scenario had Al Gore winning the electoral vote but losing the popular vote to George W. Bush, we didn't hear Democrats in the quadrennial clamor to abolish the college. Only after the election did they harp on the difference in the popular vote.Without the Electoral College, the interests of the small states and, this year the 15 or 16 battleground states -- including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, all heavy manufacturing areas -- would be shortchanged if not ignored. Increased productivity has been reducing the need for line workers in the manufacturing sector -- the number of jobs has been falling since 1970 -- but severe social and economic problems remain.Youngstown and Warren, alas, typify cities with declining tax bases, aging populations on fixed incomes, aging infrastructure, and school systems that fail miserably at educating children. President Bush, a Republican, has invited the mayor of Youngstown, George McKelvey, a Democrat, to have dinner in the White House, following the president's visit to Youngstown. The mayor has been granted unusual access to plead the city's case, an opportunity that would not be extended if the Republicans weren't trying to reduce the historic Democratic majorities the Mahoning Valley delivers so Ohio again goes Republican this year.McKelvey has an unexpected opportunity to remind the president of the resources the federal government can make available so this region can continue its halting recovery, and possibly propose at least the germ of a solution.Despite all the technological advances since 1787, advances that would allow both parties to saturate the major media markets and ignore the rest of the country, the Electoral College forces candidates to court all states and all regions. Those who ignore disadvantaged regions do so at their peril.Do you have a question or comment about this commentary? Send us your message. "