How to Fix Presidential Politics

OK, that's way too ambitious. Until we have public financing of campaigns, pay-to-play will rule.
Still...wouldn't it be nice if we could do an end run around the Electoral College and all its pathologies--in particular, the marginalization of all but the "swing states"?
Oddly enough, there's a simple idea that just might work. What's really appealing is that it does not require a Constitutional amendment. It turns on the idea that the states actually control their Electoral College votes. Winner-take-all is not written into the Twelfth Amendment (here, go read it). In fact, the states can instruct their electors however they choose.
What if...the states each took the results of the national popular vote as their guide? Presidential candidates would have to campaign for the population as a whole, instead of ignoring all but the swing states.
Read more at National Popular Election of the President.
They may be wrong, they may be goofy...but it's certainly a refreshing idea.