Thank you for taking the time to address the demographics issue in detail. It is the aspect I still struggle most with, and sense I haven’t entirely grasped. You make a compelling argument.

I also suspect that given how wrong the polls were this year candidates may hedge their bets a little more in future cycles. It’s no longer just about increasing turnout, but also being able to depress it with targeted ads. The risks of ignoring issues specific to any major demographic would seem to be greater than before.

I also didn’t consider the recount issue at all. I really like local control of elections and appreciate that this complicates that a lot. I don’t think it’s unsolvable. The states who have already joined in should be discussing it, at the least. Set standards and amend?

I left out of my article that I really think the issue of attention to states in campaigns is a little distorted. Do we expect a human to try to give equal weight to 50 state’s needs? No, it’s impossible and besides, the office is not for fixing every problem, so we really need different expectations.

I do think it’s good for candidates to get out and hear people’s stories and understand better what is happening coast to coast. If I were running, I’d be on a bus so I could stop in random small towns along the way to MSAs. Not just to win votes, but to hear concerns.