TIME's caption of the POTY cover made me think about this ("President of the Divided States"). Given the increasing tension between states, do you believe the US will stay united in your lifetime? I'm well aware of the Civil War, but that was in 1860, when foreign powers couldn't capitalize on foreign wars in a matter of hours. A war over secession now would mean a scramble for hegemony between China, Russia and Europe, and a world war with today's technology would mean Armageddon. The only quick way for a war over secession to happen is with nuclear weapons, and the day a state nukes another is the day that Russian, European, and Chinese troops fly in to "depose the oppressive regime".

No matter what the Constitution says, nobody who voted for Clinton is happy that Clinton can lose with a substantial popular vote. It's constitutional and fair, but it leaves a bad taste. The electoral college is undeniably a huge source of tension between states, as it's essentially Affirmative Action for votes. If you've ever felt offended by AA in real life, you can probably assume that's how most Californians/New Yorkers feel about the election. Funny enough, I bet Trump would have won the popular vote if that's how the election was designed (Millions of Republicans probably stayed home in CA/NY), but the EC puts on the illusion of Trump being vastly less popular, and that's all it takes for blue states to feel like their votes matter less than red states.

I think the US can pull off West Coast + New England/Rust Belt + Southwest + Midwest/West partition. Maybe Midwest/West states joining the other three due to the landlock. Whether or not I want that depends on how well the political tensions defuse over the next 16 years. I have finals so I can't contribute to much to this discussion until the weekends.