Is there any plausible argument in favor of the electoral college?

[muon2]

Theodore H. White's Pulitzer Prize winning The Making of the President, 1960 may have made the case most succinctly:

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White alludes to the potential violence in the South and the lack of clarity of votes cast in AL, MS, and those in NY given to the Liberal Party - all included in Kennedy's total.

[muon2]

I wish every state had a system like Maine and Nebraska.

I don't. Gerrymandering is bad enough as it is.

True, but federal law could specify rules for CDs, then this system might work.

[muon2]

While it does make Election Night (watching the networks) more interesting, there is no plausible reason in my opinion to have a system in place where virtually 35 states even before the campaign begins are already decided and in the bag for one party or another.  It's ridiculous.

How is that different from watching the returns for Prime Minister in Canada or the UK? Most constituencies are effectively decided long before election day, yet no one claims that is ridiculous. The EC replaces Parliament to elect the executive leader of the government.

What makes the US unique is not the lack of direct elections for the executive. If the US followed most other major democracies Congress, not direct elections, would select the head of the executive branch. The unique feature in the US is that the Constitution creates a parallel body to Congress for the purpose of selecting the executive. Congress only steps in to select the executive if the EC fails to get a majority for a candidate.