Barack Obama is certainly the presumptive 44th president of the United States, but he will not become the president-elect until the Electoral College meets on December 15, and the winner is formally announced before Congress in early January, 2009. Our Founding Fathers wisely rejected the notion that the Chief Executive should be selected by popular vote, favoring a method that preserved our federal system. Last night, Senator Obama won both the popular vote and the majority of electors, but those electors must cast their ballots before Obama becomes the president-elect.
God forbid, should Senator Obama die between now and December 15, the electors in the Electoral College would likely split their votes between Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and John McCain. This could very well create a scenario in which the House of Representatives would decide the presidency. According to the Constitution, in the absence of any candidate getting a majority (presently 270 votes) of the necessary electoral votes, the selection of president of the United States would be thrown to Congress where the House of Representatives would be responsible for selecting the next president.
Dr. George Grant put together a helpful book entitled The Importance of the Electoral College that explains in detail the brilliance of this system. Click here to purchase a copy.