I'd like to point out that the electoral college was purposefully designed to separate the democratic process from the common man. This was a great idea in the 18th century, to prevent populist hicks from taking the White House, but nowadays it's an unnecessary barrier to the democratic process. You might as well argue that only landowning intellectuals should be granted the right to vote, Sejm-style.

It was designed to prevent political outsiders and "change" candidates from attaining office, which sounds great on paper until you realize that it's literally built to deny ordinary disgruntled citizens a voice.

Concerning your second source, when's the last time you thought of your state as a semi-sovereign nation? America started out as a confederation of nation-states, European Union-style, but it's evolved over time into a centralized unitary/federal government. It's only fair that the citizens of the nation elect its chief executive instead of handing the responsibility to five swing states.