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Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich reacts during a post-election rally at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea to his Republican primary win in Ohio in March. Kasich can still play a role in denying Trump the presidency when electors meet in Columbus Dec. 19, writes Claude Goldenberg, a Stanford professor.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

Claude Goldenberg is a professor at Stanford University.

STANFORD, California -- The electoral system was designed, according to Alexander Hamilton, so that the presidency "never fall to the lot of any man not endowed with the requisite qualifications." The facts behind the electoral system's creation are, of course, more complicated, but the intent was to prevent an unqualified individual who garnered a popular majority from assuming the presidency.

What happened in the last election was a strange perversion of what Hamilton feared. On Nov. 8, an unqualified individual failed to garner a popular majority but is now on track to become president.

Ironically, if there were no "Electoral College," we would not be in our present fix, where someone who Ohio Gov. John Kasich said "has behaved in a manner that reflects so poorly on our country" is about to assume the most powerful position in the world. "Our country deserves better," the governor said.

But rules are rules, and the rule is that while the election is over, the selection of the next president is not. That will be determined Dec. 19 when electors cast their votes, as Hamilton wrote, "for some fit person as President."

Gov. Kasich and scores of his GOP colleagues have repeatedly said that Trump is clearly not fit. Hillary Clinton, despite numerous policy differences with Republicans and the enmity of millions of voters, clearly is.

The news about Trump has gotten worse since the election. His initial refusal to eliminate conflicts of interest and then his pledge this week via Twitter to leave his "great business" without offering details signal that his priorities remain what they have always been -- himself and his brand ("certainly a hotter brand than it was before," he told The New York Times).

I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my ... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016

great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to .... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016

Now is past the time for principled Republicans who expressed deep concern at the prospect of a Trump presidency to, in the words of another patriot, come to the aid of their country.

I urge Gov. Kasich to do his utmost to convince Republican electors when they meet in Columbus later this month to do the right thing and not allow the presidency to fall (literally) to someone so manifestly unfit to be president of the United States.

I also urge the governor to urge fellow Republican leaders to do the same thing. I am hoping that, as with Gov. Kasich, these principled individuals have not changed their opinions simply because Trump is on track to get the 270 electoral votes required to gain the presidency.

I implore Gov. Kasich and his colleagues to try and prevent something that is still preventable -- elevation to the presidency of a man who:

* Mitt Romney, 2012 Republican presidential nominee, called a "phony," "demagogue," and "fraud"; who, if elected, would "greatly diminish the prospects for a safe and prosperous future;" and whose personal qualities included "bullying," "greed," "showing off," "misogyny," and "absurd third-grade theatrics."

* Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican New Jersey governor, said "is employing the kind of hateful rhetoric and exploiting the insecurities of this nation, in much the same way that allowed Hitler and Mussolini to rise to power in the lead-up to World War II."

* Henry Paulson, George W. Bush's treasury secretary, said "is endorsing a brand of populism rooted in ignorance, prejudice, fear and isolationism."

* Carlos Gutierrez, the same Bush's commerce secretary, said, "I haven't heard an economic concept come out of Trump's mouth except for protectionism and lower taxes. If you put those two together, that is a recipe for disaster."

* Gordon J. Humphrey, former Republican senator from New Hampshire, said "is a sociopath, without a conscience or feelings of guilt, shame or remorse."

Surely Gov. Kasich and those Republicans serious about the threat Trump poses to our country and the world will do everything in their power to convince Republican electors they must fulfill Hamilton's vision and prevent the election of someone so unendowed with the requisite qualifications to lead our nation.

Claude Goldenberg is the Nomellini & Olivier Professor of Education at Stanford University.

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