Who Knew, Electors?

A comment that not a lot of liberals are making right now: despite Obama's recent overwhelming (and in some ways, heartwarming) victory, the electoral college still makes no sense to me.

CNN called the national election for Obama before polls had even closed on the West Coast. This is partly because the conclusion was foregone (something that can't be said of 2000 and 2004) but still. On an ideological level, it bothers me that we can elect a President without consulting a large proportion of our nation's population. Something about it seems undemocratic.