Does it really matter what the popular vote for the president is?

All most; absolutely not, if that makes sense.

The president and vice president are elected by the Electoral College after the popular votes are counted. It is conceivable that the person that wins the popular vote can lose the election by being voted into office by the Electoral College members.

For this election in 2012 that some estimates say may cost upward of 6 billion dollars after it is all totaled; what is the purpose of the popular vote if it can be overridden by the electoral vote?

Who electors are and how they are picked:

The electors of the Electoral College are real people. How they are selected is determined by both state law and the rules of the political parties. According to the U.S. Office of the Federal Register, “Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party’s central committee in each State. Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. They may be State elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate. Then the voters in each State choose the electors on the day of the general election. The electors’ names may or may not appear on the ballot below the name of the candidates running for President, depending on the procedure in each State.”

Being consistent with some of my prior statements; I don’t think that the guys that wore the wigs who wrote the constitution could possible conceive that politics could get so far of hand in all directions as it is today.

Theoretically; the members of the Electoral College are supposed to cast their votes based on the outcome of the popular vote but there have been circumstances when they did not follow the wishes of the people that elected them.

About.com

• John Quincy Adams who lost by 44,804 votes to Andrew Jackson in 1824
• Rutherford B. Hayes who lost by 264,292 votes to Samuel J. Tilden in 1876
• Benjamin Harrison who lost by 95,713 votes to Grover Cleveland in 1888
• George W. Bush who lost by 543,816 votes to Al Gore in the 2000 election.

Since when have elected officials respected the opinions of the people that put them into office? It is just a free ride with a big payoff at the end of the road for most of them.